


Say No More

by flippednique



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: M/M, Reincarnated!BBCharacters, demon!ciel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-01-19 14:04:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1472542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flippednique/pseuds/flippednique
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Ciel." His mind gently reminded him. </p>
<p>The boy's name was "Ciel." </p>
<p>Alois was also quite sure that Ciel was a girl's name and found it appropriate that the boy seemed somewhat effeminate. His skin was so pale and was that black nail polish on his nails?<br/>-- </p>
<p>Alois is reincarnated and is living a life nothing like his past one. When a certain bluenette comes along with a self-proclaimed mission, his entire world will be changing all thanks to events done in 1888.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ciel." His mind gently reminded him.
> 
> The boy's name was "Ciel."
> 
> Alois was also quite sure that Ciel was a girl's name and found it appropriate that the boy seemed somewhat effeminate. His skin was so pale and was that black nail polish on his nails?  
> \--
> 
> Alois is reincarnated and is living a life nothing like his past one. When a certain bluenette comes along with a self-proclaimed mission, his entire world will be changing all thanks to events done in 1888.

It was around the time that everybody should have been in class when Alois Trancy found himself looking away from the green bulletin board that greeted all students that came in through the back entrance. It was located in the back entrance for a good reason and that reason was all the sleazy remarks and words that had been written on it by previous troublemakers of Pitchthome Institution for the Gifted.

As a current student Alois had not had the pleasure of writing anything on the board, not that he would be allowed to do so. Goodness knows what his father would have to say if he'd gotten caught. As big as that 'if' was since he seriously doubted he'd get caught, Alois didn't want to chance it just yet. He had a good standing here in Pitchthome and he didn't want to ruin it by being stupid.

Tradition dictated that only senior students would write on the board as the staff and faculty would not be able to do anything to them after that. It would explain how little was written as only a select few graduated from Pitchthome. More often than not students found themselves quitting before the first month was up.

But not Alois. He was determined that the last two years of his in Pitchthome would be peaceful before he would scrawl on that board to his hearts delight. And when he got to leave this place, oh the world would have to strap itself in because he was going to rule it.

Of course not a lot of people were enthusiastic about his wants to leave the Institution. Namely, his younger brother Luka who was only an incoming freshman. The kid still had four years of theatrical hell to go through and Alois somewhat pitied him. Weathering a storm was better done when with company, or so Alois assumed since that's the impression he got from all the people around him.

Don't get it wrong, Alois was friendly enough, he just didn't have what he considered bona fide friends. He found most people around him in class and a few underclassmen quite handy when he had problems but he never sought them for their company. He sought them for their usefulness and used them for his own benefit.

Some people were born to be stars while some people were born to watch said stars shine.

Alois was a star, and he would squash whatever and whichever pathetic bug believed otherwise. He felt it and he believed in himself even if people called him so many things when his back was turned. No matter, they would rue the day they thought to backstab Alois Trancy.

Sighing softly because thoughts of such idiots made his head ache, Alois moved away from the board and towards the quad. He had a group meeting with the student council and he wondered just what the group of teacher's pets wanted with him.

As he moved a classroom door opened followed by another. He smiled when he saw the freshmen move out. He never could recall if he'd been that small. He had always been a tall child standing quite proudly at five foot seven at the age of sixteen. He's pretty sure he hasn't had his growth spurt yet so he was expecting to push over five foot eight before his birthday which was two months away.

To his right, Alois smiled at one of the freshmen, waving his hand. Luka waved back, eyes a shade greyer than the blue of Alois shining quite happily. There was an air of ingenuousness around his brother that Alois would kill to keep. Nothing would tarnish Luka's innocence even if he'd had to fight tooth and nail to make sure of it.

Maybe it was the dreams that he got at night that bothered Alois to the point that he could not look at another person, more specifically a man without feeling the stirrings of heat in his gut. He wasn't bothered by it since he thought girls were plenty to look at as well, just not as compelling.

Left and right men had attracted his fancy and yet whenever he was with one he felt like something was missing, he felt that something wasn't quite right. His flings were never secret and his current partner at the time wouldn't miss the chance of flaunting their relationship to anyone and everyone who would listen. No matter how many of those pitiful boys he's been together with his value of being a rather illustrious student in the Institution he was still sought after because of said fame.

He didn't mind since it worked for him in the end. The attention that Alois craved was given and he got plenty of perks throughout the relationship even after he dumped the poor sods.

Still he felt incomplete.

Alois' thoughts circled back to his dreams. Perhaps they truly were the culprit that he sought blue eyes so cobalt and dark framed by similarly tinged blue hair that he knew was softer than silk. A voice would call to him as he slept, a low timber that had his knees going weak and shivers wrecking up and down his spine.

His dream-boy had no name, but oh how Alois wished he knew what it was.

"Glad you could meet with us Trancy." Oliver Sparks was the current student council president, a senior this year which was a bust since most of the students loved the brown haired and green eyed teen. Many would be sad to see him go.

Alois pulled out one of the quad's many chairs and turned it around. He sat down and leaned against the back of the seat that was now pressed against his front, smiling at the council. "Pulled me out of class so I owe you my thanks."

His response was followed by laughter and inwardly Alois wanted to roll his eyes. Attention was good, great even because he felt practically starved for it when he was at home, but when things were done automatically like people laughing at something that wasn't even supposed to funny, it sort of irked him.

Hurriedly covering up the glare that wanted to form on his face, Alois looked at the table in front of him that the council had migrated to and eyed the many papers and what seemed to be a blueprint. "What exactly is that?"

Oliver took charge, clearing his throat and pushing his glasses up his face. "Right, the PSAE has already scheduled the next couple of months and we're one of the designated home courts. We will be in charge of activities involving sets A and B."

Alois' spirit lifted at that. The Private Schools Association of England (or PSAE) were as stated an association of all the private schools willing to join in the activities held as friendly competition for all twenty four schools in their jurisdiction. Not a lot of schools indulged in these games as they didn't come quite so cheap. Alois himself was a rare spectator but to hear that their school was a chosen home court was quite a treat. The only times he got to watch was when

"As following previous PSAE events we will start off with all sports games namely basketball and volleyball." Oliver continued as he pulled out several pieces of paper and passed it around. Alois grabbed a copy of what he assumed was the schedule for the next couple of months and was glad he had been invited into this meeting.

Of course seeing as he wasn't an actual member of the student council, this begged the questions why and what exactly was he doing here. When he asked that in a more specific question Oliver had smiled at him. "I trust that you will be quite helpful when it comes to rounding up the best of the best to play into the games. You will act as their coach at some point Trancy. I've talked to the teachers and they agree with me. You're going to be a big help."

"Well," Alois had replied smiling. "Don't believe I can say no now can I?"

After that though he was quiet. Work was boring for Alois, he most definitely did not want to be a bunch of whiney brats' coach for the next couple of months. Lord knows he would keep his temper in check before he swatted one of the cretins. He hated kids, or generally people younger than him despite the fact that he acted like them.

Or maybe that was the reason why he hated them because he knew what it was like to be them. Clueless, airheaded, ignorant,  _innocent_. Except for them they weren't acting that way, they truly were that way. If only Alois could be like them and not just act like them.

Oh how the world would spin differently if that were to happen.

Like the dreams, there was no rhyme or reason to some thoughts that went through Alois' head. It ranged from tear inducing dramas to some borderline of sadistic. Once he had thought of gashing someone's eye because they'd stared at the ridiculous outfit he had worn to school. At first he truly did want to gouge the kid but he'd taken a few deep breaths and after questioning the thought simply concluded that the kid was admiring his pale legs as so generously  _un_ covered by his booty-shorts.

His fan base had increased tenfold after that day and purple definitely became his new favorite color.

"There's also the issue of a new student joining our school." Oliver had cut in as everyone was preparing for the meeting's dismissal so that they could at least make it to their last class of the day. "He was supposed to come this morning but certain circumstances found him unable to attend."

"Special." Trevor Forcible, a student in Alois' year clicked his tongue as he rolled precious garnet colored eyes.

Alois agreed with him and was caught slightly off guard at such news since it was somewhere in the middle of the year. Whoever this person was must have been influential since he managed a swift and  _clean_ transfer.

"Quite." Oliver nodded searching for what was probably the new kid's file. "Says here he has to have a personal butler with him at all times."

" _Really_  special then." Audrey Hamsworth drawled as she neatly plucked the paper from Oliver's hands. The council president glared playfully at his vice and fellow senior but returned to compiling papers as she took over reading the file out loud. "A Mr. Phantomhive, incoming sophomore and master of fencing and theatrical arts. Huh, got competition now Trancy?"

"We'll see." Alois laughed as cued but it sounded so hollow to his own ears he wondered if the people around him had heard it. The others continued to discuss Mr. Phantomhive but the mere name had brought Alois to his own thoughts again, learning to tune everyone and everything out.

He's heard it before, heck he's sure he's said it before as well. But when, where, and why… He just didn't know.

"You'll be seeing  _now_." Oliver murmured as he straightened up and a welcoming smile made its way to his face. He was staring straight over Alois' head. "Hello, you must be Mr. Phantomhive. My name is Oliver and on behalf of the student body I'd like to welcome you to Pitchthome Institution for the Gifted."

Alois turned in his seat while Oliver had been talking and for a second he almost wished he hadn't.

_"I want you **Ciel** Phantomhive. That's all there is to it."_

There was a brief moment that Alois stared straight into such  _familiar cobalt_ and he felt his entire world swinging way out of axis. As embarrassing as it seemed to be Alois found himself staring at the ceiling as black bled into his vision and an itching sensation claimed his tongue.

What… what was going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic will have plenty of plot twists, like plenty. Hope you'll stick it out with me! :D
> 
> I'd very much like to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment when you can :)
> 
> Nique


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ciel." His mind gently reminded him.
> 
> The boy's name was "Ciel."
> 
> Alois was also quite sure that Ciel was a girl's name and found it appropriate that the boy seemed somewhat effeminate. His skin was so pale and was that black nail polish on his nails?  
> \--
> 
> Alois is reincarnated and is living a life nothing like his past one. When a certain bluenette comes along with a self-proclaimed mission, his entire world will be changing all thanks to events done in 1888.

Ms. Shrewsbury had to be Alois' least favorite teacher. Mainly because she taught Mathematics to every year level in Pitchthome and partly because the woman's blue eyes and platinum blonde hair often lead people to believing that she and Alois were actually related.

He  _hated_ that people would think he was related to such a phony person. Ms. Shrewsbury put on a brave face much for her own sake so that no one would bully her. What was one person against an entire class? She needed that leverage over the students that she could not be harmed even without the principal hovering over her shoulder just in case the students got any ideas.

Alois knew though that the woman was  _soft_. She would never dare raise a hand to a  _puppy_  let alone a child. That strict frown on her face was there by force and never actually genuine, so was the wrinkling her forehead would do when she taught her lessons. By all means, Alois thought, let her get ugly. It's her own fault for not being true to herself.

Then there was the other source of Alois' ire. "Everyone, this is Ciel Phantomhive, treat him well."

The blonde glared out the window as their teacher introduced the new student. It was the day after the incident and so far only three idiots had thought it would be wise to ask why he had fainted yesterday. Said idiots were treated to an earful of how Alois Trancy does not faint and merely passed out and it took both Luka and his little brother's personal maid to keep Alois from getting physical.

The reason of Alois' little spell was standing in the front of the room eyeing everyone around him with little to no attention and the class welcomed him silently, eyeing him with interest. After all, it wasn't everyday that Pitchthome received an incoming student a month late and it wasn't like every student was allowed a personal attendee in the campus!

Alois knew just how difficult it was to get papers to approve such a person. After all, Luka had Hannah, and it took falling in line for six painstakingly long hours just to pass a request then it took two months to get it approved. There were also background checks to be done on the attendee's as well as personal interviews.

It was a very long and  _expensive_ process such that Alois questioned how… important this Mr. Phantomhive was. Not just to the school but to society itself. He'd done his research, albeit not too thoroughly as he was insanely flustered last night, and he found out that the Phantomhive family has been in the business world for as long as back to the eighteen hundreds. As of this moment the boy in front of him was its sole heir.

 _"Ciel."_ His mind gently reminded him. The boy's name was  _"Ciel."_

And how odd a name it was for someone in the twentieth century. Alois was also quite sure that Ciel was g _irl's_ name and found it appropriate that the boy seemed somewhat effeminate. His skin was so pale and  _was that black nail polish on his nails?_

Yes. Alois watched as those black nails disappeared into the boy's uniform pockets as he made his way to what would now be his permanent seat for first period. It was two rows behind Alois' own chair and a seat to his left. Several students were protesting on behalf of the other student as he had not only the disadvantage of being quite  _short_ compared to the rest of the class  _(ha!)_ but he was also  _wearing contacts_  or so one of the girl's had said and therefore might have eyesight problems.

Now Alois didn't really care where the other boy sat, he was a lot more curious how Annabeth of all people, knew that the new student wore contacts since it wasn't like the Perdue girl was all-knowing and she simply couldn't have any past meetings with him since Phantomhive didn't look like  _he_  knew  _her_.

"Would you like to switch seats then?" Ms. Shrewsbury asked, pushing up the spectacles that framed her own face. Her eyes moved around the room before they settled on Alois and the blonde's breath caught.

_'Don't you dare.'_

Ms. Shrewsbury's lips pursed. "Mr. Trancy, would you mind switching seats with Mr. Phantomhive?"

 _'You dared.'_ Alois' nails dug into his palms as he stared the woman in the eye. School rules said that he had no say on the matter as it was the teacher's decision as to where students would sit. Ms. Shrewsbury was simply asking for, again, her own sake so that she would be able to say that she had  _asked_ the student before forcibly making him vacate his seat.

Holding in every curse word he wanted to fling at Shrewsbury, Alois stood up, grabbed his bag and smiled as fakely as the teacher's disinterested look was only his was actually believable and shook his head. "I don't mind."

"Good." Ms. Shrewsbury answered in that clipped tone of hers.

Alois took in deep breaths to calm himself as he made his way to the back and patiently waited for the other boy to leave the chair so that he could sit and stew for the better part of Maths class. Of course that didn't happen when the blue haired boy wouldn't budge.

"Excuse me, Mr. Phantomhive." He bit out with little sweetness. "I would like to take my seat now so that we can start class. Maths is important you know because we use it everywhere and every day."

 _'Oh good Lord just how far are you going to take this?'_ Alois inwardly questioned himself. That had to be the stupidest thing to have ever come out of his mouth and that was saying something as he often said stupid things to entertain equally stupid audiences.

"Hm." A shudder ripped through Alois' spine but he held his ground and stared Phantomhive in the eye. He was sure that only happened because the last time he stared into those eyes he had fain- passed out and he most definitely did not want a repeat performance.

"Well?" He clucked impatiently when the other boy still did not move. He was half tempted to just push the boy out of the chair to get him moving but with the entire class watching (plus stupid Shrewsbury) that wasn't going to help him any.

The bluenette continued to look at him, and for a moment Alois wondered if there was something on his face and should he chance to remove it. It must have been a good five minutes before Phantomhive smiled…  _smiled_ and turned to face their teacher.

He said something, but what that was Alois wasn't sure. A wave of nausea moved through him, a hand moving out to grab the table in front of him to keep him steady on his feet. Black was edging back into his vision before it cleared away. His tongue was burning but then it cooled.

 _'What was that?'_  Alois cried mentally, his entire being shaken and unsure. A hand on his wrist had his attention blooming back to the present and he realized just how many eyes were stuck on him. He felt sweat on the back of his neck and the room felt awfully stuffy.

" _Are you feeling alright?"_ Ciel Phantomhive was holding onto him, and Alois was just a bit glad that he was. His knees were shaking so bad he was sure he would have fallen if not for Ciel holding onto him.

" _I'm okay."_ He breathed, wondering why he felt so out of breath. His head pounded heavily, his mouth felt too dry. " _I think I need to sit down._ "

"Of course." Ciel stood up and offered the seat to him where Alois collapsed, burrowing his head into his arms as he crossed them over the desk. He could hear Ms. Shrewsbury asking him if he were all right but for the moment he ignored her, focusing instead on his breathing and his pounding head.

As he tried to calm himself he could hear everyone around him, buzzing like silly bees. Class had began then, Ms. Shrewsbury simply leaving him to get himself into rights as it was obvious that he wouldn't be moved to the infirmary and she couldn't sacrifice an entire class' time for one student, it wouldn't be in her fake character's interest.

 _'That's just fine'_  Alois thought as he now regained his breath. The itching sensation on his tongue was doing nothing for him however and he absentmindedly dragged it over his teeth in an effort to abate said itching.

He also pondered just what the bloody hell happened. One second he was trying to be fake-buddies with the new kid (who has managed to make him nearly faint twice- succeeding once) with just his eyes. But that was absurd! Nobody had the capability to make others faint on will, eye contact or no.

Alois wished he done a better background research on Ciel Phantomhive, this way he would at least have some answers. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.

* * *

Not being an actual member of the student council was both a curse and a blessing. A curse because sometimes all the things you do are disregarded in favor of people honoring the bona fide members and a blessing because it got you all these great perks. Like free pizzas while you guys pretended to work on the PSAE schedule while in truth you were simply lounging about.

"I'm so full I think I'm gonna be sick." James spoke up. He pushed weakly at his black hair, taking deep breaths to sooth his stomach.

Tabitha looked away from her notes on the volleyball games and stuck her tongue out at him. "You deserve it you prick! You ate the last of the Hawaiian!"

"Jealous." James said.

Alois chuckled at their immaturity as he continued to nibble on his second slice and across from him Oliver was also eating, having put off his lunch to do some actual work on the schedules. So far only the President seemed to be getting his work done and Alois felt a little bad for him for doing all the work.

"Say, when did we agree that the new school jersey would be blue and white?" Oliver asked as he pointed at said colors. He looked around at the few members of the student council pulled out from classes namely the vice president Tabitha Hamsworth, the secretary James Forcible, the treasurer Jessie Harrow, the school paper editor Cody Lerwick, and teacher chosen representative Alois.

It was Cody who answered, leaving his pizza crust up for scraps. "Professor Thomas thought it'd make sense since it's the uniform color. Why, what did you have in mind?"

Oliver took back his papers and shook his head. "Nothing, just need to make sure who approved it so that if they ask, we can answer."

"Good show." Cody praised before he pulled out his laptop and got to work on editing the invitations for the PSAE. He had enlisted Jessie's help since the other boy had nothing else to do at the moment and they were debating on font styles.

Alois left them to that and kept his eyes on his own work space where there was a calendar, a memo pad, a list of school teams, and a list of players. He was required to assign dates and times for the first six games as Tabitha was handling the next six. They couldn't afford any mix ups here since they were talking inter-school.

Pitchthome may have been the school of the rich, but it wasn't the only one. The students attending the PSAE had enough money to bunk them off should they mess this up and fooling around with the PSAE was like kissing your own reputation goodbye.

Alois did not need to soil his name not only for his sake but also for Luka. He'd be damned if he let his little brother get the brunt of whatever he did during his time.

"Hey Trancy." James called him. His garnet eyes were bright with glee and a very intrigued expression was on his face.

"Yeah?" He called back momentarily leaving his work alone.

"Where did you learn to speak Latin?" the ravenette asked.

Alois' forehead crumpled and he asked, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Earlier today in first block when you were talking to Phantomhive. He was telling Ms. Shew that you guys didn't need to switch seats but you were sorta out of it and nobody saying anything could get you to respond. That is until he started talking in this weird language, I thought it was Spanish at first or Portuguese but Annabeth told me that it was Latin and she knows it was because she's seen Pans Labyrinth."

Alois was confused. "I… I don't know, I don't remember speaking Latin. And I'm pretty sure that's because I _don't know how to speak in Latin._ "

"Bollocks!" James exclaimed. "You were talking in class and that wasn't English mate! Not even American English and I've got twenty-eight other people who heard you to prove it."

"I really don't remember that." Alois insisted. "I only know English, I swear it James."

The other boy looked lost because Alois knew he seemed genuine but that was only because he truly  _was_ genuine. He didn't know how to speak Latin, hell he barely passed French back in first year! And he was sure that should he know how to speak Latin then he would bloody well be aware of it. You can't learn to speak another language in your sleep after all.

That was just plain crazy!

Of course Alois didn't like the way James didn't believe him and spitefully he glared at the other boy and drawled quite sarcastically, "Of course if you don't believe me because for some reason you know me better than I know myself then by all means, live in belief of lies."

"I didn't say I didn't believe you." James said, insulted. "I'm just saying that I know what I heard."

"All right," Alois replied carelessly. "I don't care what you think Forcible. Consider this conversation over."

"Fine." James snapped rather heatedly. "I for one though don't see the point in you lying about knowing how to speak another language. It's not like you use it to summon the devil or something."

Alois blood boiled and he stood up to gain a bit of leverage over the other boy who was sadly much taller than him even when sitting down. "I am not  _lying_ James. I don't bloody know how to speak in Latin and that is bloody that!"

James stood up too, now knocking out Alois' height advantage a while back. He looked like he had a lot to say by the way his eyes gleamed. Much to Alois' part-relief, part-annoyance Tabitha smacked both him and James with a ruler on the hand.

"If you wanna act like children then you will be treated like children." She snapped, grey eyes narrowed. "I don't care that you seem to have this rather less than amiable relationship but please take this out of the council room as some of us have work to do."

Alois rubbed the back of his hand where it was now red and James sat back down grumbling underneath his breath. When neither seemed to be getting ready for another spat, Tabitha nodded to herself and returned to her papers, seemingly quite satisfied.

Silence reigned the room then, Oliver letting his vice president do some disciplining as everybody knew the boy didn't have it in his heart to do so and would have rather they got everything out of their systems instead of interfering. The only noises now being down was the clicking of keyboards and the scratching of pencils as plans, schedules, and designs were created.

Alois took his time to focus on his work but his mind kept moving to the idea of his being able to speak Latin. He truly couldn't believe it, in fact he wish he could just forget about it. He had spoken to Phantomhive, yes, but it sounded like plain old English to him! There hadn't been anything different earlier when the boy had asked if he wanted to sit down so why on earth did it sound like Latin to James, and apparently, to the rest of the class as well?

Stranger things have happened to Alois but he wished he was never at the end of such things. The dreams have irked him to no end when he's thought of just how odd it was to be getting them at the age of twelve (yes it started then) and now he was possibly speaking in an almost dead language.

_What the bloody hell is going on?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it :DD


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ciel." His mind gently reminded him.
> 
> The boy's name was "Ciel."
> 
> Alois was also quite sure that Ciel was a girl's name and found it appropriate that the boy seemed somewhat effeminate. His skin was so pale and was that black nail polish on his nails?  
> \--
> 
> Alois is reincarnated and is living a life nothing like his past one. When a certain bluenette comes along with a self-proclaimed mission, his entire world will be changing all thanks to events done in 1888.

There was a moment where Alois was sure he wanted to drive his fist into someone's face. Not just anybody's face but the new kid's face. That's right, Ciel Phantomhive's smug little face. He wanted to punch it. As in, drive it into it and impale him to the very best of his abilities. But bullying wasn't allowed in Pitchthome, which was one of the reasons he decided to attend this school in the first place. It was also one of the reasons why Alois had never had any problems with anyone for being openly gay, of course should someone try to get in his face he'd happily bash their heads in too.

_'When did I get so violent?'_ The blonde thought as he continued to stare Ciel down. The other boy was staring right back at him but where Alois was seething and simmering with anger, Ciel was simply  _amused_.

That's right. The bloody wanker was smirking at him, eyebrow raised almost challengingly as he played with his cup of tea. It irked him because tea was his thing. No one in his family liked tea except for him and now Ciel Phantomhive was making him hate it. It was clearly taking all his control not to get up and give him a piece of his mind (which involved a crowbar at some points in his fantasy).

"You're scary right now big brother." Luka chirped up from his lunch seat. His voice was lowered down so they could keep their conversation just between them. Beside him sat Hannah, who was eating her own lunch.

She his personal maid that Alois, frankly, didn't like very much. She made him feel... urgh, awkward maybe? He couldn't describe the feeling just that he didn't like being alone with Hannah for an extended period of time. Luka loved her though so he couldn't do anything about getting her fired or what. Especially after all the stuff they had to do to get her in Pitchthome with them in the first place.

Alois stabbed at his bubble and squeak with great enthusiasm. Maybe he was just imagining it as someone (say a certain bluenette)'s head. Who's to say that he was doing that, right? No one could read minds here so it was very safe for him to continue envisioning it as Ciel's head. Yess.  _'Again, violent!'_

From beside him his other brother ate, eyes glued to a book. Jim however looked up at Luka's comment and swallowed what food he had in his mouth simultaneously putting his book down (another novel or was it a biography again?). "Luka's right mate, you're sending scary vibes out to a five mile radius. What's bothering you?"

" _He is_. Him and his annoying face and his stupid smug smirk. How I'd love to kick that smirk off of his face and just _argh_!" Alois hissed still staring at Ciel two tables away.

He and his brother may have been twins however they couldn't be any more different. Sure they had their times of getting along like whenever one of them didn't like this person the other would help out with a prank or two but while Alois thought classes were boring and simply mandatory, Jim liked learning and books. If whatever Alois planned to do was suspension-worthy Jim would never help him with it.

And what he wanted to do to Ciel Phantomhive was suspension-expulsion-worthy. Damn, he'd have to find someone else to help him.

When the Trancy family adopted them all those years back, Jim took the opportunity he had been given to his full advantage. He planned on attending a good college and making a name for himself in whatever field he would get two years from now while on the other hand Alois simply took things as they came, thankful that they had been given a family and a life worth bragging about plus the ultimate cherry on top- a new baby brother Luka.

Jim was his twin of course but he could be too much sometimes while Luka was Luka.

He did everything he could to make both Jim and Alois happy. At first he was afraid that Jim would forget about having a twin because Luka was kinder than Alois and a lot happier than Alois about life in general. Jim had bopped him hard on the head for that eight years ago and had called him an idiot then hugged him and told him that they would always be brothers.

Alois had done a lot of crying and laughing that day but he was glad his twin understood him. Probably like no one ever would, possibly. Ugh, twin thing. It was creepy and sometimes irritable how he could never have his secrets but what could you do?

"Phantomhive?" Jim glanced at said boy in question before he returned to his book. "What about him is bothering you?"

Of course Jim would know about the brat. Even if they were in two different sections and had different classes, there were no secrets here in Pitchthome. Cheat and everyone knows, fail a class and everyone knows, heck  _trip_ and everyone knows down to where it was, how you did it, and which body part landed first.

Alois chucking his fork away, but not too strongly as he didn't want to attract anyone's attention. "Everything! He's been looking at me like he knows something about me or like I'm his own personal joke. It sickens me. I hate feeling like I'm being watched and that's how he's making me feel. God, and it's only been two days and I feel... ugh, I feel violated!"

"You're being dramatic." Jim chided. "He's a new kid and new kids like stirring trouble. He's probably heard about how you're in the in-crowd and just wanna make friends."

"Have you seen him?" Alois cried staring with disbelief at his brother. "He's got that tall-dark-and-handsome aura about him that people can't resist, minus the tall part cause I'm pretty sure he's like a foot shorter than me."

"Maybe he likes you." Luka piped up from his side of the table. He sipped at his milk carton. "That's what Timber does to me and he says it's because he likes me."

"What?" Alois snapped out of it. His baby brother that was supposed to be the very epitome of innocence had an admirer? His big brother senses were going loco. "Who's Timber?"

"Apparently a classmate that likes him." Jim put his book down, his own big brother senses going overdrive and both he and Alois stared at their younger brother. "All right Luka, you've been keeping secrets."

The brunette looked up from his tray in surprise. He gaped at his older brothers, turned his head to look at Hannah, and then back again. "No, I haven't."

"Then why is this the first time we've heard of this Timber bloke?" Alois asked, hands on his hips though Luka couldn't see it since the table was covering it.

"Oh," Luka's entire demeanor immediately brightened. He hated not knowing why he made people mad. And he hated it even more when people expect him to figure out what it was that he had done because usually it's always unintentional. It's always easier for him if they tell him what he'd done wrong.

"Well?" Jim tsked crossing his arms over his chest, his thick framed glasses nearly fell off but he kept his arms where they were. "We're waiting."

"I only found out today." Luka replied. "And he's not in my class Jim, he's a senior I think. He substituted for Professor Mocks the other day and he let us do whatever we want while he talked to the students. He said I looked cute which is nice to hear. I mean, you're my brothers after all, I have to keep up with you at some point!"

It felt like the entire world just tilted out of its axis and Alois subtly glanced at the glass doors just in case he'd spy a pig or two flying about. When he saw no pigs with wings he was sure the world wasn't really ending and looked back at Luka who was now indulging himself with some strawberry shortcake.

Beside him Jim was livid and inwardly he was thankful his brother wasn't screaming. He himself felt like screaming. And tearing off certain people's heads. Two people now, not just one. But that wouldn't do because it would ruin his charming reputation. But still…

_Ciel Phantomhive and Timber…_

"Luka." Alois called sweetly. "What's his last name?"

"Hmm," Luka was too busy with his cake and Alois barely let go of the anger wrecking his body. He would not calm down just because he had the most adorable fifteen year old brother. "Mallory. Timber Mallory."

" _Mallory._  Thank you Luka." Alois nodded and turned to his twin, drastically lowering his voice. "You and I have someone to meet after class Jim."

"Too right. He better keep his hands to himself if he doesn't wanna live up to his bloody name and fucking timber." Jim muttered darkly. "How dare he? Calling our little brother cute... He's fifteen years old for Christ's sake! He's not ready for crap like that! Bloody wanker taking advantage of our brother's innocence, stupid twat."

Luka looked up from his dessert and sighed to himself, he couldn't hear Jim but he could feel it. Now not only was Alois sending dark auras to everyone around them but so was Jim as well… he wondered what everyone was being angry about. Sighing again he set his plate down and turned to his personal companion. "Hannah?"

"Yes Luka?" Talking to Hannah was nice. She was always smiling at him and she could cheer him up whenever he was down. She was also very pretty.

"Are Jim and Al mad at me?" He asked really worried.

Hannah smiled at him, brighter this time and shook her head. "Of course not Luka."

"Oh." He smiled, relieved. "That's good."

* * *

Everyone had left the cafeteria, including a certain blonde, or should he say  _two certain blondes_. Both were obviously ticked off about something but Ciel couldn't pinpoint it. Where they mad at each other? It's hard to tell since one was fuming, obviously keeping it bottled up while the other one was smiling, but Ciel knew that smile and it was not actually what you would consider a  _smile_ but rather a plotting expression.

Alois wanted to kill someone and he could just guess who.

Ciel let the mask he had been wearing for quite some time now drop. He didn't like that Alois was angry with him, but all in due time. He didn't want to overwhelm him… that would just be plain stupid. Instead of the blonde understanding, he would be pushing Alois away from him which wasn't something that he wanted to do.

He had worked too hard to get to where he was now, and he was so close... but he had not counted on there being _two_.

Jim Macken, Alois' original identity had taken a life of its own. That had been a major miscalculation on his part when he'd searched for Alois' soul and set it free. He hadn't meant to resurrect Hannah or Luka but maybe that was for the best. Alois seemed happy in this time line. And not the phony-happy his past self had been, but actually and genuinely happy.

Ciel was glad about that himself. Being a demon gave him time to think, too much time actually and over the years, he had learned to see Alois under a different light. Nights without needing to rest or sleep had him realize just how... wrong he had been about him.

Alois had been nothing but a  _victim_ , a  _pawn_ in Claude's silly games. He had been hurt, discarded like nothing and even though Ciel was now a demon he knew what it was like to feel human. To want to be loved, to want to be needed.

Even demons knew such yearning.  _Needing a reason for his or her existence_. It was what Alois was searching for. A reason to live, a reason to wake up each day. He thought he'd found that in Claude but he had been fooled with.

Ciel wanted a second chance with Alois, wanted to see if he could do this right. Circumstances seemed to never suit him however as the last time there was a demon involved and said demon was after his soul and now this time there was the issue of the blonde himself.

Unlike in the 1800s he was not up against a Ciel-obsessed blonde ready to make him 'his'. This Alois now had what the last Alois didn't.  _Family_. A father, a mother, plus Luka and a twin brother to boot. It would be hard to convince him of starting something especially with how they've been interacting so far.

Had he been wrong to hope that Alois would recognize him? Of course. It had been stupid of him to think that Alois would see him, and maybe Sebastian, and just remember who they were and who he had been. Remember their history, remember their memories.

Ciel had to smack himself for that one- this was not some stupid fairy tale or crappy fan fiction. This was _reality_. Nothing was ever that easy. Of all people he should have known that much about life.

After all he had taken years to search for Hannah's body which would never decompose or frail as she regenerated. Ciel had tasked Sebastian on doing that and as always he hadn't failed him. Separating Alois' soul from all the others that Hannah had eaten was even more taxing, and it had taken him a good three decades to do so without hurting Alois' fragile soul.

He thought he'd done well enough when he saw before his very eyes that Alois was back, breathing, smiling and bloody  _alive_. He had left Alois to be found by someone. He hadn't been sure who the man was but apparently it was a Trancy worker or someone close to the family since Alois had yet again become a Trancy only there was no foul play this time around.

Ciel should have stayed and watched him progress through life. That way he could have made things easier for him. Not to mention the complications that Jim brought to the equation.

Which one's soul belonged to the Alois that he knew?

No. He knew which one it was and it was  _Alois_. Jim Macken would always be a part of Alois Trancy but much like in the 1800s, Alois had discarded that version of him, thrown it away in hopes of keeping it locked up like a skeleton in his closet hoping to never see it again.

This Jim had created a life for himself, heck he had developed a new identity all together. Perhaps he remembered Ciel; there was a small probability that Jim remembered what it was like living in the past but nothing past his transformation from Macken to Trancy.

Ciel took a moment to compose himself, his thoughts making his head hurt. Too much thinking was bad, especially when it was about Alois. Absentmindedly he stroked the ring resting on his finger and smiled at the sapphire gem.

_"I wonder Lord Phantomhive, if we were one, if we were… could I have that same elusive blue for my soul?"_

He remembered it all too well and they would soon find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right. I freaking did it. To whomever is reading this say hello to "Lumber"! XD There will beTimberxLuka here though it's not mainstream like Cielois. Still, can you feel the love? If not yet then stay with me! I will make you love this pairing, bwahahaha. I did this because I love Luka and I love the triplets. Yesh. I also named them Mallory because it sounds so posh. :D
> 
> We also see what Ciel is thinking. Much twists to get over with before we can get them together though. Starting with Jimmy ;)


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ciel." His mind gently reminded him.
> 
> The boy's name was "Ciel."
> 
> Alois was also quite sure that Ciel was a girl's name and found it appropriate that the boy seemed somewhat effeminate. His skin was so pale and was that black nail polish on his nails?  
> \--
> 
> Alois is reincarnated and is living a life nothing like his past one. When a certain bluenette comes along with a self-proclaimed mission, his entire world will be changing all thanks to events done in 1888.

Dinner at the Trancy household was warm. There were lights opened and ceiling fans were whirling keeping the inhabitants of the room cool. Why then, pray tell had the first adjective used on the dinner been "warm" if they had fans blowing breezes while they ate?

"Why Ciel you have such interesting stories!" Eladine Trancy was not a hard woman to please.

In fact, her wants were simple and easy to attain. A cake to enjoy every other month, a garden where she could tend to her roses, and breakfast and dinner were meals to be had with her family.

It wasn't often that someone intruded, well not intruded per-say. There were six of them dining that evening. And when she said six, it wasn't their regular six.

Matthew was caught up at work and wouldn't be eating with them. Normally she would hold off dinner until her husband came home so that her wishes were fulfilled but certain circumstances changed things.

After all it wasn't everyday that her children brought home friends. Alois had introduced her to a boyfriend or three of course and while she appreciated her son's honesty about such matters she had always been a bit worried about Jim.

Jim was older than Alois (or so the twins both said) and the boy liked to think that he had to be the mature one, the responsible one. Although Eladine liked that he had such a developed outlook towards certain things, and she knew that she could trust him with everything coming down to their family she still hoped that he'd act like his age sometimes.

He didn't have to be worrying about stuff like this anymore. He had a family supporting him to do the worrying for him.

Of course, you can just about imagine Eladine's great surprise when Jim of all people invited a classmate home. She was way beyond ecstatic, delighted, thrilled, overjoyed and some all rolled into one! No matter that the invite had been spontaneous, Jim had taken the initiative and invited them and according to Luka his big brother had done it without any prompts or hints. Jim wanted Ciel to be here.

Of course she was incredibly curious who this Ciel Phantomhive was to attract her eldest's attention and his butler was even more mysterious. Man hardly said a thing and was quiet a fine gentleman. He complimented almost everything he had seen and according to the slightly shocked look on Ciel's face, compliments from Sebastian were hard to come by.

Alois on the other hand was seething in place.

He liked dinner. His mother couldn't cook to save her life and whenever she tried to make a meal for them the siblings all agreed that it was the thought that counted. Although they wished they would think of their poor stomachs should they ingest such horrid-but-love-filled-food (If that's what love tasted like none of the siblings were ever going to kill for it- ughh). They had because of that a cook for their meals and she was amazing at what she did. She once brought him to his knees after eating the most delicious blueberry cheesecake ever!

 _The same blueberry cheesecake stupid-smug-faced Ciel Phantomhive was eating now._ It didn't help that his current source of ire was sitting right  _beside_  him. They had a certain seating arrangement when they ate.

Mother at one end, father at the other end, Jimmy and Al to one side then Luka and Hannah to the other side. Seeing as the head of the family wasn't there the seating arrangement was now mother at the same place because she proclaimed it was her chair hence the embroidery of her name with Luka and Sebastian to her left then the twins and Ciel to her right. A chair had been pulled out for him as there weren't enough and Hannah had decided to simply eat in the kitchen with the cook, Johanna.

Alois wished he could have the same options.

Eating with Jojo was nice because she always let him sneak an extra slice of whatever dessert they were having and all the soda he could drink. It was their little secret she had said and boy did he love her for it. Even if he wasn't in the disposition for sweets since his mood was turning more and more sour as the minutes ticked by, it would have still been better than sitting here and having to listen to Ciel dumbfound them with his many, many,  _many_ stories.

How can a kid do so much? Didn't he have school? Didn't his parents care? And like Alois would believe he'd gone to all those countries. Tickets didn't just sprout from trees! If they did then show it to him right bloody now so he could grab one and fly to Timbuktu or somewhere else far away from this horrible dinner. Maybe the Caribbean. Yeah… sandy beaches and blue waves where he could probably find a shark that would swallow him whole just until dinner was over.

Another thing irking him was sitting on the bluenette's other side.

What had Jim been thinking? He'd told his twin about his problems with the Phantomhive boy, how he had felt violated-  _violated-_  and yet here they all were bonding over cake! He would not be able to look at his favorite dessert anymore the same way. Never again. More so the pity, he would never see his second favorite chair in the house and not moan in despair since lord-know-it-all was currently sitting on it.

Life was a bitch and didn't Alois know it.

When people started clearing plates away, Alois took the opportunity to excuse himself. No way was he spending time with the short-know-it-all for any longer than what was necessary to be deemed polite.

"Are you all right Alois?" His mother asked worriedly as she placed her teacup back on its floral patterned saucer. "You've been quiet all evening."

"I'm just tired Mum." And that wasn't even a lie. Hating someone and mentally bashing them could be quite tiring. He smiled at her rather obvious concern (mothers!) and gave her a kiss on the cheek before he turned to the other people in the room still drinking tea. "It was a pleasant evening everyone, alas, I am weak against fatigue!"

Luka laughed at his brother's silly antics and he played with his tea. Odd but he never did like it. "Goodnight Al!"

"Oh please." Jim rolled his eyes at such a display and he was also stirring the spoon in his cup with little care. None of them were too fond of it, it seems. What kind of Englishmen were they?! Oh the horror! "Such dramatics don't become you Alois."

"Oh didn't like it?" Alois gasped and pressed a hand to his mouth. "I'm so, so, so, so,  _so_ sorry for not pleasing you with my mediocre drama. I'll simply have to brush up on my acting skills until I become worthy of your hard to come by praise."

Jim cracked a smile. "You do that. Goodnight Al."

The only people left to say anything were Sebastian and You-know-who. And since he was the host here, one of them at least, he couldn't afford to be rude.

"I trust you had a pleasant evening?" His eye almost twitched at having to smile at the bluenette look that way to his audience.  _Keep smiling. Think of happy thoughts. White Maltese puppies. Hot chocolate. Ciel's head on a platter. Yeaaaaaah._ He was a master of the arts so he knew what he was thinking wasn't obvious to his audience.

Or was it?

Ciel smiled at him and nodded his head looking quite… pleased about things. There it was again. That stupid smile and that stupid knowing smirk. It had return. Damn him! He felt his skin crawl at seeing it on the other boy's face and his fingers twitched belatedly realizing that he shouldn't have stand up yet since he left quite a pretty butter knife back on his plate setting.

"Quite pleasant, thank you."

Alois took in maybe more than one lungful of air and smiled. "Right... For real this time everybody, goodnight."

He made his way from the dining room to the stairs and through the halls until he get to his room. The mansion was more like a manor now, not very big as they'd converted most of the land into stables and what not. It was still big enough that he had a rather spacious room and also an obscenely huge bed.

Alois laid on it now in his pajamas, thinking sometimes it was a little  _too_  big. Years ago he used to sleep with Jim in the same bed, one that was too small for the both of them but they made do. They had done the same thing upon being adopted by the Trancy family. They had separate rooms but that didn't stop Jim from going into his and asking if he were all right.

Luka had seen them do so, especially when he'd gone to wake them up and found them both on Alois' bed. He'd snuggled in between them and left the maids an opportunity to coo and go aww when they were visited for a second awakening. No one could bear to ruin such a serene moment and they usually got away with sleeping in whenever that happened. It could probably still work but at their present age people might get the wrong idea.

They didn't do it anymore because of that, except when the other one really had a bad day and just needed a hug or something like that. Luka often slept with him when they were younger but not anymore. This is where boundaries came because they were respectable lads, never mind that he was openly gay and it now seemed that so was Luka.

Alois grit his teeth as he thought about the short interaction a little after classes ended. He had hustled to Jim's class which was usually in the hall adjacent to their class. Too bad it was Wednesday and Jim's class had PE that day. He had to run to the quadrangle so he could haul his brother off of his ass (Jim liked PE a little too much) and away from the sore losers he had been baiting before they high tailed it to the seniors classroom.

There were three senior classes. They had checked the first section because only a student there would have been approved as student-teacher-substitute. Oliver had seen them and raised an eyebrow at both twin's disheveled, flushed, and panting states before he simply shrugged and walked past them, reminding Alois that they had a student council meeting tomorrow and that he'd text him the meeting place and time.

Jim had ignored them and shuffled ahead of Alois and stared pointblank at the three remaining students in the class. One was the person they were searching for and he had stormed up to him, eyes blazing like fiery ice. Was that even possible? Alois had let his brother do the talking (ahem, threatening). Suffice it to say that Jim got the job done.

The Mallory boy had been sitting on his desk, staring out the window. Jim had advanced on him to the point he was nearly flat against the wall he had been leaning against and his hands were raised in the universal cease fire motion. The words 'twat', 'brother', 'dare', and 'watch it' had been uttered multiple times in constant repetition.

Alois had watched all this, quite content with his arms crossed over his chest. If Jim excelled in loud warnings, he was left to be the silent one. It worked better this way. People feared his brother because he didn't hide that he was a force to be reckoned with. Alois, on the other hand, would be underestimated and he liked it that way. He cackled wickedly at every person who had dared target him thinking he was weak.

' _Weak am I_?' he laughed at some bloke's face as he parked his foot into his arse. Those were good times. Everybody knew not to mess with him or Jimmy now though. It was sorta dull…

It was a nice feeling though. Reminiscing about the old days. Yeah, the good old days with no blue-eyed-blue-haired-blueberry-cheesecake-eating-know-it-all-that-probably-idolizes-cookie-monster-for-being-so-blue butting into his life. Alois yawned into his hand and closed his bedside lamp. He really hadn't been lying to his mother when he said he was tired.

He closed his eyes now and simply dreamed… dreamed of white maltese puppies... hot chocolate with whip cream... and wait for it _\- Ciel's head on a beautiful floral patterned platter._

_Sweet dreams indeed._

* * *

Jim had given his mother a rather pointed look when the woman continuously hovered over them in the drawing room. It had been one of many delivered as the night progressed since Alois had excused himself and retired to his room.

Ciel saw this and inwardly smiled. He liked to imagine what life would have been like with an overbearing mother. And what little he saw of Jim an Alois, Eladine seemed perfect for them. She was caring but not too much. She was interested in what he children did; particularly when it came to the people they hanged out with. He did not miss how she eyed him when he entered, plus the way she had subtly stolen Sebastian from his side to slightly question him. He could hear them from where they were still in the dining room while he and Jim were in the living room.

This begged the question what he was doing here. He had been incredibly surprised to be approached by the elder Trancy as he seemingly pissed of the younger one by simply existing and being in the same vicinity as him. His shock doubled when he was invited to dinner no less with the matriarch of the family even.

"So, Ciel." Jim folded his hands over his lap. It was such a practiced gesture but the blonde made it seem so effortless. He leaned forward a bit. "Do you mind if I call you Ciel?"

"Of course not." He smiled. Jim didn't seem to have a problem with him.

"Good." Jim returned the smile. "Ciel, you're a new transfer to Pitchthome Academy. Everybody's wondering just who you are and where you came from, what spurred this decision to transfer and just what is up with that mysterious butler of yours!"

"I know." Ciel inwardly stressed himself. The blonde's entire demeanor had changed in a matter of seconds. He had taken this aura of uncaring air around him and he seemed to be less into the conversation than he had been while they had been enjoying dinner. Ciel felt like he was  _nothing_ around Jim and he wondered why that was.

Jim raised a fine eyebrow at him and Ciel wondered if this was what Harry Potter felt like being interviewed by that mad bug lady. "You know?"

"Students don't actually know how to whisper very well." Ciel said, he tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers. "I hear them when I pass by. They can be quite loud actually. Very… irritating."

"Ah, yes." Jim smiled again. "I don't know how they think they're being discreet when everybody can hear them in a two mile radius. Stupidity seems to run in the females, doesn't it?"

"Not stupidity." Ciel corrected. "A lack of self-awareness. They easily get sucked into their conversation and they forget that sometimes there are people around them."

Jim seemed to mull over his words then he nodded. "Perhaps you're right. I agree, stupid is a very harsh word. I don't know why I said that."

Ciel chuckled. "Perhaps you are like them? You get sucked into conversations quite easily or so I've noticed."

"Been watching me have you?" Jim smirked. He had seen Ciel freeze. It was obvious as there were only subtle changes, like the way Ciel had stopped tapping the arm rest and his breathing had hitched there for just one second. "Don't worry Phantomhive; I've been watching you too.  _I finally have you._ "

Ciel remained quiet. The atmosphere in the room had changed. It felt colder, which was ridiculous because… as a demon he shouldn't be feeling this way. He could hear Sebastian's rather fake heartbeat pulsing from the other room. It wasn't as calm as it usually was. He was listening on their conversation. He had to tread carefully.

" _What's wrong?"_ Jim asked in faked concern. He stared at Ciel with widened eyes but his lips were still pulled into a quite amused and pleased smirk. He titled his head to one side, his chin tipped slightly. " _Trouble breathing?"_

Ciel gaped. "What?"

" _Does it hurt?"_ Jim cooed. " _If you'd like I'd be happy to lick it all better for you. Let me lick your bruise._ You just have to tell me which hurts more, you're ego or your palms? You seem to be clenching your fists so tightly you're hurting yourself. Why do you do that Ciel?"

The bluenette continued to stare at the blonde. Jim was entirely too amused for anything to end up in Ciel's way. He felt a sense of déjà vu as the minute hand on the clock continued to make it's clock-wise journey. Sweat beaded on the nape of his neck and he swallowed the lump in his throat as discretely as he could.

" **You know**." He stated more than asked.

Jim giggled that  _bloody giggle._  He'd never thought he'd hear that again. The other Alois had a giggle too, but it wasn't… quite like this. This giggle was filled with hidden intentions. Jim knew something and he wasn't bothered with stopping low enough to torment him with what he knew. Jim was… had he been wrong? But he had been so sure! He had been attuned to Alois- not Jim.

"Hoheo Taralna, Rondero Tarel." Jim giggled again and let out a sigh. "It's been a while Ciel. I've missed you and you're pretty blue eyes-  _not."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know... I've noticed that in almost every chapter I have Alois eating. I think I want him to get fat or something. Anyways, may I be the first to say; BOOM. Jimmy knows and remembers Ciel XD
> 
> I also noticed that you guys like Cielois than Sebacial&Aude. I'm basing this on my fics though so this isn't definite.
> 
> There will also be a Lumber scene in the next chapter because they had only been mentioned in this one. I might rewrite that intervention in Timber's POV cause I can just imagine how it goes XD
> 
> The italicized stuff in the Ciel/Jim scene is quotes from Kuroshitsuji II. Wanna guess which episode that was? :D Mind you it's the dubbed version cause I can't find BB subbed on the net.
> 
> Also that thing about self-awareness and women bah, I don't really believe that.


	5. Chapter Four

"Well," Alois/Jim smirked at him and Ciel was rather taken aback. This felt so familiar, almost as if yesterday they had had that duel and he had cheated and everything turned for the worst. Claude tasted his blood and the demon had turned is back on his own master. The blonde was now sagging against his chair, completely relaxed, unfazed and totally uncaring. His eyes were bright, an eyebrow arched challengingly. "I'm waiting Ciel. What are you doing exactly?"

Ciel pursed his lips, trying to find a way to answer. He had many views on his own actions. Searching for the soul in the underworld, freeing it, giving it life again. He didn't want to answer AJ because he didn't have answers for himself. Denial was not a mere river in Egypt. It was a bloody ocean, and Ciel had been swept in its tides for so long he had forgotten what it felt like when he'd admitted it… to himself that one quiet September night.

Wasn't this better though? At least he wouldn't have to worry about breaking things down to the other boy- he already knew. Logically speaking this was definitely much better for Ciel. Less work for him as Alois/Jim would understand their relationship, would be aware of their  _history._  He contemplated this, wondered if he should just outright say it.

Alois/Jim on the other hand continued to stare the bluenette down, and his eyes narrowed with impatience. His smile was still there but it was more fake, less genuine and he was idly twirling a lock of his hair. He did so as Ciel seemed to gather his thoughts before he got tired of waiting and blew the lock away. Jim wore his hair longer than he did. He stuck his tongue out at the bluenette. "Oy watchdog I don't have all bloody night!"

Ciel's head snapped up. "What do you mean?"

Alois/Jim sighed exaggeratedly in an exasperated manner and pulled his legs close to himself, wrapping his arms around them. "I'm not actually here Ciel… I just… Sometimes I surface in either him or the other twin. He's easier though because he's less inclined to care about you. Much like I had been when I was still Jim. Alois though… he's bloody pissed with you and thinks you're a right wanker… Christ, this is so hard! Talking about myself like I'm someone else-  _two someone elses_!"

Ciel straightened in his seat. He eyed the blonde carefully from the way that he was now paler than before, and he seemed less inclined to move. There were no hand movements from him now while earlier there had been hair twirling and tapping. He was just curling in on himself. "You… you're  _possessing_ Jim?"

"Well what d'ya expect?" The blonde drawled tilting his head and resting his chin on his knees. "I'm less than a soul-shard trying to exist in both the underworld and the human plane. Nothing ties me down here anymore except for these two but their so different from me. They usually pull on me, half of me wants to go to Jim the other half wants to go to Alois. It's hard. It's not that easy for someone like me compared to what you can stand demon. Congrats by the way, you're quite the hot-shot in hell."

Ciel's cheeks flushed. He had not wanted that reputation, it just got saddled onto him when news about a fourteen year old boy turned demon also had one of the strongest demons on his service. Sebastian had been a big thing on his rising in the underworld. He wasn't sure if that was truly good or bad.

He licked his lips attempting to calm himself. He needed to talk. He would be damned if Alois… Jim… AJ got to his skin again. He was better than that now, older and wiser. He would use this to his advantage. If AJ could tell him anything that would help make the process of easing Alois into a new start with him then he would have to ask AJ whatever he could. Or, if it happened, AJ could just come back as one of the twins. Ciel would help him adjust and adapt to the new world… he would never lose Alois again.

"You went in the underworld?" He asked carefully. "How'd you get out? You're a soul. You should be in purgatory."

"Oh I was." AJ seemed blatantly chipper. "Nasty there in that place it is. I hated the fire and the smoke was bloody awful! All the soot turned my precious hair black and I looked like a ragged street-urchin. Granted I was maybe back then but I moved from that to being an Earl. It was simply degrading!"

"How'd you get out?" Ciel repeated, his lips pressed firmly together, entire expression serious.

AJ saw this and he scowled. "You're no fun Ciel, just as always. You'd think a couple of centuries being alive would loosen you up or make you mellow, but no. Just a stuck-up as always. It wouldn't hurt you to smile or something you know."

"Waiting." Ciel prompted.

AJ stared at him with narrowed eyes for a moment before he sighed and gave in. There was just no winning with Ciel, honestly. "I don't belong in hell."

"Meaning?" Ciel asked. "You don't exactly belong in heaven either. You gouged someone's eye out, if I do recall."

"That was one time!" AJ cried then his eyes widened. "How'd you find out about that? That was before I knew you!"

Ciel could feel his cheeks flush yet again. "Walls have ways of sharing what they've seen and heard. The Trancy dining quarters are quite chatty."

"You…" AJ's entire body deflated. He licked his lips, trying to regain his bearings. "You went to the Trancy Manor? Why?"

"I needed…" Ciel shook his head. "Sebastian said it would be good for me. To visit places that were important to me."

"And the room directly across from my bedroom was important to you?" AJ raised a fine blonde eyebrow. "Ciel I never ate in the banquet hall unless we had guests. I always ate in the room across from me and that was the place I gouged Hannah's eye."

Ciel's cheeks were turning redder and it was slowly spreading to the nape of his neck. "I didn't know that. The walls just lead me around, took me there and showed me the memories. You're crazy bipolar you know that?"

"Rape can do that to you." AJ shrugged his lips forming a small sad smile. He rubbed at his wrists, at a bruise that was no longer there on Jim's body and sighed. He looked up at Ciel through blonde bangs. "I used to be quite the actor though."

"It seems you still are." Ciel noted. "The present Alois is a drama prodigy."

"Is that right?" AJ smiled. He chuckled softly. "Maybe it was for the best. Me dying then. Being reborn doesn't seem to be too bad for me, even though… they're not me anymore. They're their own person now. They may look like me and they might have shards of my soul but they're… Alois is Alois. Jim is Jim. None of them are me anymore. At least not really."

"They have fixtures of you." Ciel added gently. "Alois is just as diabolical as you are and Jim, from what I saw in your memories when you took over my body is just as loud mouthed as you are."

" _Were."_ AJ corrected. "I'm not alive anymore Ciel. It's best if you keep that in mind."

Ciel looked down at his hands, he had been clenching them into fists. He saw more than felt the pale and long fingers that covered his fists and slowly and gently uncurled them. Then those hands moved, and AJ was so close. He cupped Ciel's cheeks in his hands and a wave of vertigo hit Ciel as he remembered that first night.

"Sorta like de ja vu, huh?" AJ whispered leaning in close. His fingers were trembling, his voice breaking a bit as if he was holding back tears. "…  _Thank you_ , Ciel. You… for some reason came back for me. You brought another one of me in this world, two if we're really keeping score.  _I don't deserve it_.  **I know I don't**. You've given me so much.  **Life**  and Luka, and Eladine, and Mathew. They are amazing people. I know you did it cause you feel guilty. Killing someone  _will_ do that to you… still, thank you so much! You have no idea… and now I'm rambling."

Ciel, previously frozen solid, lifted his hands and distanced himself from the blonde who was now crying freely. Tears fell down his cheeks, his blue eyes glazing over turning the solid cerulean to a hazy ice blue. AJ was smiling, hiccupping softly.

"Sorry." AJ choked out. He wiped at his tears with the back of his hands. "Really sissy of me ain't it? Here I go thanking you and I can't even do it like a real man. I end up bloody crying."

Then Ciel did the unthinkable, he smiled. His entire being felt funny, enjoying the way AJ's eyes widened in surprise and delight, as he gave his best and most genuine smile. His arms moved on their own accord, wrapping around the other boy, his head burying itself into Alois' chest. They held that pose for a while, one of AJ's hands gripping his shoulder, the other in his hair. He felt the blonde stiffen but he held on anyways. He looked up when the hand on his head fell, and the one clutching his shoulder grew limp.

A new weight, heavier and warmer was placed on his head. Ciel looked up.

"My lord, I have placed Lady Trancy in slumber. I was sure you didn't want her to hear this conversation." Sebastian had an arm around AJ… no Jim now, Jim's also sleeping figure. Slowly, he let go of the blonde and Sebastian pulled him into his arms.

For a second Ciel wondered what if would have been like had Alois had Sebastian for his butler and not that awful son of a bitch Claude.

"Young master?" Sebastian called. He titled his head, peering at him with concerned garnet colored eyes.

Ciel returned the look. "What?"

Sebastian balanced Jim in one hand and extended the other to cup Ciel's face. It was only then that he felt it. "You're crying."

* * *

Luka was having an absolutely awful day.

Hannah couldn't come with him to school today because for some reason she had a cold, which was odd because Hannah didn't get colds. His mum had woken up not knowing how she'd gotten home and was all angsty during breakfast. His dad wasn't at home when he woke up having to leave for his office and whatever it was he did there. Alois was still fuming over what Jim had done and was only on  _civil-speaking-terms_  with his brother which was a very bad place to be, he knew that and Jim… he looked positively exhausted.

When he'd gone to bed last night Jim and Ciel were still talking. He wondered if they stayed up past curfew, maybe that's why Jim was so tired.

Irately, which was really weird for Luka cause he was never this stressed, he opened his locker and gingerly tossed his books inside before closing it shut. He turned to walk away when he remembered that Hannah usually checked on his locker to fix his things and he was such an ungrateful child that he'd expect her to do the same when she was sick with a cold.

Guilt creeping into his very insides, twisting like one of Alois' and Jim's rollercoaster game sets, Luka turned back around and opened his locker again. He arranged the books by size and consulted his schedule. He then did the same for his notebooks, glaring at his Science and Maths textbooks which were thicker and bigger than the rest. They made the neat row of books look messy and he wished he could chuck them away.

But then he'd fail Science and Math and that wouldn't do. Jim was acing all his classes and Alois would be too had he cared about it enough to put in any real effort. He had to keep up with his brothers or he'd be left behind. Luka whimpered inwardly at the thought. It wasn't very pleasing.

Satisfied with his now semi-decent locker, he shut it again. He did so this time knowing that Hannah would come to school with him tomorrow and discover that he could clean up after himself. Which he could, it was just he had gotten used to Hannah insisting she could do things for him. Alois and Jim hadn't bothered correcting them because they let Luka decide for himself.

He had power, he knew that, but he didn't  _like_ it. Hannah was just as bit a part of their family as the next person. Even Jojo. They'd been together for many years now and the Trancy family was more like a collection of misfits, maybe. Jojo had a family of her own though and she was even dating someone. Luka didn't like it but he knew that Jojo might be leaving them soon. She was an awesome person, so nice, and caring. Whoever was dating her was no doubt going to want to marry her… then she'd leave.

Knowing that made his heart hurt.

Luka shook his head, if he didn't stop thinking about this now he'd think of Hannah leaving him to be with someone and to have a family of her own next. If Jojo leaving made his heart hurt, Hannah leaving would kill him. He knew it would.

Taking in deep breaths, he decided to do some walking because walking helped him get his mind off things. A rater pointed cough had him looking up and he just noticed his companion. "Timber!"

"Hi Luka." Timber Mallory was a senior student of Pitchthome Academy. He was nice; he was a member of the football team and apparently thought that Luka was cute.

Now Luka wasn't too vain and he didn't think about his looks too much, he was still quite aware of himself. He was conscious about everything. His school image, his public image, his grades, his actions. He was one of the Trancy children, constantly monitored by DSWD making sure that they were being treated rightly. His parents never did anything to let him down and he was doing the same by being the proper and well-behaved child that society expected his parents to have.

He also had Alois and Jim Trancy for his brothers and those two were quite sought out for. They had attitude, lots of it, and one was sassy while the other was confident. They were so self-assured and in control of who they were that Luka had to make sure he was the same way. He didn't worry about superfluous and frivolous matters like who was dating who. It was more important for him to maintain the same level his brothers had on well… everything.

If he couldn't be first in class, he would still do his best and remain in second. It's what Jim did. He was currently third but still striving for second. Al was on seventh but he wasn't too bothered. So Luka tried to adapt whatever mindset they had.

What he couldn't adapt was their sureness. Especially Alois' when it came to boys. He and Jim shared the mutual feeling of contentment. They didn't necessarily need a significant other, mainly because Luka thought he was way too young himself and Jim and Al would never let him date someone at this age.

He had looked at Timber and the amused smile on his face. They had been walking for some time now, just moving around the campus in silence. He decided to break it. "Jim and Al talk to you then?"

"Kinda." The aubergine headed boy ran a hand through his spiked hair, the bracelets he wore clinking softly. The word  _Timber_ was carved on its silver base. He smiled ruefully at Luka. "I was sick yesterday after I took charge of your class."

Luka giggled at that. "You were not! You were smiling and laughing the whole time you were at class, you just didn't want to go to your own classes."

"Guilty." Timber grinned. "That's beside the point though."

"What is the point then?" Luka asked.

"Well, I was in the nurse's office the whole of yesterday afternoon." Timber shrugged his shoulders. "Your brothers threatened someone all right but it wasn't  _me_."

"Oh no." Luka mumbled. "Don't say Canterbury."

Timber patted his shoulder. "Sorry squirt, it  _was_ Canterbury and he ain't very pleased. He said your brothers are shit ass scary."

"Don't swear." Luka scolded. He crossed his arms over his chest, smiling a bit. "What else did Canterbury say?"

"That I should give up on you." Timber mimicked the motion and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't plan on doing that though. I think you're worth the fight."

Luka stuck his tongue out. "I'm too young Timber!"

"Then I'll wait." Timber again copied and stuck his own tongue out. He smiled when Luka laughed and they turned a corner towards the gates of the school.

Luka enjoyed Timber's company. They had quite the conversation in class yesterday when Timber had all but ignored the rest of the students and focused on Luka solely. The attention was  _nice._ He had learned so much about him and he felt like he knew this person completely.

But of course, it's only been two days and a guy stupid enough to admit that he liked someone the day they met them meant trouble and that was what Luka didn't need.

Seeing Hannah by the family car, as well as Alois and Jim, Luka turned to his friend and said his goodbyes.

"Have a good night squirt." Timber said and waved as he made for his brothers.

Luka got in, hugged Hannah and asked if she was all right then looked out the window. The Mallory siblings were there and Canterbury was glaring at their car. He willed the driver to get going already before hell broke loose.

But the driver. Was not. Cooperating with him. Damn.

"Uhmm, is it just me or am I seeing triple?" Al was staring out the window with him, a finger pointed at the Mallory triplets. Jim's head also turned and both blonde's froze.

Luka still willed their driver to get a move on and chuckled nervously when Jim ordered for the man to wait and stop. He then got out of the car, Alois following. Before Al left though he looked at Luka. " _Three of them?!"_

Luka gulped nervously as he too followed after his brothers. This was not going to be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I'm on mobile mode you guys and can I just say I absolutely suck for taking this long to post something. RL got in the way and I'm just hoping you guys are still up for reading this. 
> 
> All the comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! 
> 
> Note: Uh some of the text that should be in bold/italics AREN'T so some of the feels might not be present. I'll try to fix that once I'm on a computer. I find that there's more of an... impact when certain words are boldly emphasized. Come back after a day or two for a reread? If you can be bothered :) 
> 
> ALSOOO~! AHAHAHAHA LUMBER SHIP BABY! 
> 
> I kinda noticed that my ships have the err less dominant partners as the first half of the pairing name. Drrrrrr.pp
> 
> Nique


	6. Chapter Five

AJ was afraid of many things, namely getting cut off from what he knew for good. He remembered being scared of small things back then- like the dark, which he still doesn't like but he wasn't afraid of it anymore. Floating in between heaven, hell, and earth would spontaneously drag you all around the universe without warning. Finding yourself trapped in the middle of black abyss was not odd for him anymore.

Feeling weak was though, odd that is, as a soul, AJ didn't need to eat or sleep. He didn't even have a truly correct grasp and sense of time anymore. He just often  _floated_  in and out of existence because technically he was supposed to be gone now. No soul should be allowed to do what he does, possessing his reincarnations. For one thing Jim had a soul of his own and Alois had a soul of his own. Neither body would be able to accommodate him and he was starting to see the aftereffects while occupying Jim's.

Jim's soul was in there with him, only it was  _dormant_. It wasn't talking to him or fighting him for his body because the body simply recognized him. Almost like… like he was some sort of conscience. Or at least it recognized a part of him since he had at one point been Jim.

This was confusing, complicated, and cool all at the same time. The three c's.

As of this moment, AJ's thoughts were more on the three awfully familiar faces that had appeared in front of him as he leaned heavily against the car door. At first he hadn't recognized them, because he hadn't been paying attention. Alois just had to draw his attention and he felt almost as if the earth had been pulled from underneath his feet.

He had to double check that it hadn't happened in a literal sense and he was still inside Jim before he rushed out the door. His heart… well you get it, his heart was beating so fast and hard he thought it would jump out of his chest. What were the chances?

Hannah… Hannah being Luka's personal maid had just been a big coincidence for him, the fact that Luka and his reincarnation/s knew each other in this world was something he just counted as a blessing. But for the triplets…

"Thompson! Timber! Canterbury!" He snapped, breathing hard as he stopped his fast walk. It had been a short distance from the car but he was breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself.

The trio in front of him looked no different, except maybe… a little younger? Yes, much younger than the triplets back in his time. They regarded him with straight faces and bored burgundy colored eyes. No one spoke.

AJ visibly bristled as he was watched rather plainly by the siblings and he planted his feet shoulder width apart, hands on his hips. It was a familiar pose, not in this body, but in  _the_ body back in the eighteen hundreds. Huffing at the lock of hair falling over his face (Jim wore it longer than he did but Alois had it even long too but it was a more controlled style than Jim's flyaway locks) he commanded in a firm voice, "I order you to answer when I am speaking to you."

Almost as if on autopilot, all three aubergine headed boys fell down to one knee. They seemed just as surprised as AJ did when they raised their heads and offered their apologies.

AJ took a step back, his blood growing cold. "I… I didn't know I could still do that."

"Neither did we young master." Thompson piped up.

Canterbury nodded. "We didn't even know you were back."

"I'm not." AJ clarified. He attempted to gain his cool and pushed again at the insistent lock of hair. If that lock didn't stop he would have it cut Jim's body and temper be damned. He cleared his throat and motioned for the triplets to stand up which they did and asked, "What are you doing here? And don't lie to me. It's obvious that you're still demons, and Hannah being near isn't too much of a coincidence is it now?"

Canterbury opened his mouth to say something but Timber reached a hand now and tugged on his shirt sleeve. Both of them went quiet and AJ grit his teeth, grinding his molars into dust as he turned to Thompson. If the triplets were anything, they were one-track minded. If they said no, they meant no and nothing would change it.

"I am waiting for an answer Thompson." He snapped. The aubergine headed boy said nothing but simply stared behind AJ for some time. The blonde wondered what he could possibly staring at behind him when he realized that Luka and Alois were probably by the car, which was behind him… and they must have seen everything.

Spinning a one hundred eighty, AJ came face to face… or rather, face to chest with Hannah who was staring down at him from her five foot eleven glory. The gleaming and knowing look in her eyes brought AJ's blood to stop moving through his body, and his breath hitched as a hint of fear managed to wedge itself into his mind.

Hannah could be scary if she wanted to be.

"Master," She murmured slightly disapproving.

AJ took a few steps back to get some space but didn't look away from the silver haired maid. "You have some explaining to do Hannah."

Hannah merely smiled and nodded. "Of course."

AJ raised an eyebrow at such compliancy before he managed to look behind Hannah and saw Alois' body on the floor, obviously unconscious and not dead. He looked back at Hannah with wide eyes. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm not exactly allowed to hurt you." Hannah noted. "You are in fact in possession of one of my young masters and you are also another of my young masters. I am bound to protect you, not hurt you."

"Protect me?" AJ repeated. He shook his head in disbelief. "Protect me from what?"

Hannah smiled sweetly at him and placed a hand on his shoulder before making him turn back around so he was facing the triplets. All three were now holding a posed Ciel Phantomhive in their grasp, a fencing sword in one hand and a revolver in the other. AJ's eyes widened.

"That, young master." Hannah wrapped arms around him, hugging him to her. AJ went willingly, wondering and quite utterly baffled. Ciel… Ciel wanted to kill him?

* * *

AJ had pretty much collapsed like his fallen siblings which he managed to confirm before sleep dragged him under. Hannah had laid him down on the grass as his mind went overload and like a machine, it short-circuited and he turned himself off. It didn't make sense, but some things didn't necessarily make sense.

Maybe it was Jim trying to gain control of his own body or maybe AJ was just too weak from possessing him for so long. Either way he welcomed the blackness in an effort to escape what he just witnessed.

As he laid there on the grass dead to the world (in a figurative sense) Ciel struggled to get out of the triplets' hold. A demon he may have been the triplets were still older than him, the infuriating woman in front of him even more. In fact, Ciel was a mere  _baby_ compared to Hannah and Sebastian. Unlike in usual cases, youth did not present itself as an advantage even though his opponent was most probably centuries old youthful looks be damned.

"And just what were you planning to do Ciel Phantomhive?" Hannah asked, her entire sweet-splenda demeanor disappearing, her eyes narrowed angrily at Ciel.

Ciel took a moment to calm himself. Even if the triplets had him in their hold, if Sebastian were near him or not, he would be saved should he ask for it. One thing about Ciel though, he hated when Sebastian looked at him whenever he needs saving. The amused smirk, the knowing look… it frustrated him to no end.

So you can imagine how much his pride was keeping him from calling for Sebastian now.

"I was just coming over to see what was going on." He answered finally.

"With a sword and a gun in hand?" Hannah smirked, reaching a hand out and attempting to pry said weapons out of his grips.

"I'd rather keep these close to me if you don't mind." He replied stiffly, keeping his fingers clasped around both sword and gun and shrugging Hannah's holds on them. "Unless you think I'm a danger with these on me?"

"You?" Hannah echoed, scoffing. "A danger? Please don't make me laugh Earl Phantomhive."

"Oh but I'm a comedian." Ciel insisted before he managed to loosen the triplets' hold on him, enough that he jumped a good feet away from them and much closer to AJ's prone body. He tossed sword and gun away (Sebastian would get that for him) and slipped an arm underneath the blonde's slack legs and shoulder. He smirked at Hannah, enjoying the way her face nearly turned purple in apoplectic rage and surprise. "I'm also a very good stuntman."

"I can tell." Hannah snapped, grinding her teeth. She held up a hand to keep the triplets from moving towards Ciel and the bluenette took that as the chance to get away (it wasn't a retreat!). It didn't take long before a very familiar black blob was running right by him. Said blob slowed down enough that Ciel saw Sebastian's knowing glance and his grip on AJ tightened.

"My lord, I think it's best if you give sir Trancy a break." Sebastian called over the wind they'd picked up as they ran. Ciel ignored him for the time being before consenting and changing his course back to their house, or at least the closest one.

Sebastian opened the door for him with one of his many ever present keys and he carried AJ into the bungalow house, carefully setting him on the tan sofa before addressing Sebastian. "Keep all the curtains and doors shut. I don't want anyone getting here."

"Yes, my lord." His loyal butler then went off to do as he was told.

Ciel took a moment to compose himself, settling in an armchair across from the couch. He stared at the unconscious blonde, his chest rising and falling.

Who was this boy in front of him now? Who would he wake up to be? Would it be AJ or Jim? Either way it would only end up disastrous if Ciel didn't think of how to explain himself now.

* * *

Alois gripped the comfortingly familiar silk cases of his many pillows and turned over as he woke. There was nothing like waking up with a headache, one big enough that it seemed his head was actually being split in two. He winced as he tried to get comfortable. He didn't like headaches, and he'd rather fall back asleep instead of facing a day with one school be damned.

Odd thing though, was that there wasn't any sun streaming into his windows like it ought to should it be time to wake for school. His head may have hurt but his body was awfully rested which meant he had to have been sleeping for a good nine hours or so now. Which meant he was probably sleeping through dinner.

Alois forced back his eyelids and was thankful that there were no lights to greet him. He stared blearily at the swimming image of what he thought was his ceiling and pondered the merits of getting someone's attention for a panadol and some food or simply sleeping it all off.

Food or sleep? Food or sleep? Food or sleep? Food or sleep?

Neither one apparently as Alois found it too hard to call for anyone without lifting his head too high and he couldn't get back to sleep either.

Alois hoped he wasn't getting sick because he didn't want to miss school not because he liked getting up early or having to fight falling asleep during his more serious subjects but because it was a plain pain to catch up to the rest of the class especially in Physics. Urgh, Physics! Curse Newton, Rutherford, Rankine, and anybody else who made so much stuff to learn and study.

Science aside, Alois tried to think of how long he could have possibly had a cold and just what he'd missed. He remembered leaving class, really excited because he was going to have a walk with his Mum around the gardens and he was also getting impatient because Luka was taking so long. When his little brother showed up he he'd questioned his health at the thought of seeing… triple.

Alois gasped and crumpled back into bed as his attempt at sitting up failed epically and attempted to will the world to stop spinning. That's right… he had seen three of the boy that had been hitting on Luka. Timber Mallory was a triplet! A  _triplet_! Damn it all, he might not be able to do any of the pranks that he wanted now that there was the chance of a mix-up.

He didn't like involving innocents, and as it seemed in the situation there would be  _two_ innocents. Damn, damn, damn. Turning over to lay on his stomach, he took a moment to get comfortable and to make his head stop spinning. He pushed his face into one of his plush pillows and kept it there.

Through the haze of one hell of a headache Alois managed to remember what he had been thinking about… what had made him faint. His throbbing head complained and fought him every step of the way as he thought about it.

In the end he gave up and just prayed for sleep.

* * *

The moment he came to the first thing he did was groan. In front of him was a pasty blue ceiling. Now, he liked the color blue, it was the color of his eyes. But if he was waking up to neither pure darkness nor blinding light that meant he was still on the earth and possessing one of his reincarnations. And that was bad, bad, bad! He'd never gone this long stuck in one body before. His energy was barely there, drained and faded. His mind was still in shock and he just wanted to shut himself down. But no- he couldn't do even that simple thing right- he had to effin wake up!

AJ cursed under his breath, not caring where he was or whoever might possibly hear him. He sat up, or at least tried to as he fell right back down. If he was this weak, if  _Jim_ was this weak then that meant Alois was probably too. It wasn't a myth that twins were usually intertwined together. What do you think happened to George when Fred died? A piece of him died too and he was never ever the same way again. AJ knew that the only reason he was still moving now was because he was draining Alois' strength too and although that was a good thing for him (to have some kind of energy reservoir) it was bad for the twins' souls. They were  _quiescent_  and AJ couldn't begin to stress just how bad that was for them.

His breathing picked up on his nerves, air coming in too thin. It completely escaped his mind that this shouldn't have been a problem for him as he didn't really need the air but his attentions were focused on other things. Like the hand on his back helping him sit up and the other extending a cup of something towards him.

AJ looked at Sebastian, wondering what the hell was going on, his entire body freezing. He knew Ciel was here, the triplets and Hannah yes but not… He inwardly gulped in fear. He was pretty sure that Sebastian wasn't very happy with him and if he was under the captivity of this particular demon…

"Oh do calm down Mr. Trancy," Sebastian smiled as his new charge seemingly turned into a statue. He pushed the cup of tea towards the blonde urgently, knowing that he had to give the boy something but it was too soon for food so a drink would do.

AJ eyed the cup worriedly and shook his head. "N-No thank you."

"I insist." Sebastian returned. He took the wide eyed look on AJ and couldn't help but think that had the blonde used this on him back in the eighteen hundreds he would have been… affected. While he didn't look quite like a cat… it was a close thing. When AJ still refused to budge he pulled the cup of tea to himself and took a sip before presenting it back to the blonde. "See? It's not poisoned."

"Like I could trust that!" AJ stammered speedily. "Y-You're a demon! Even if there was poison in it most certainly wouldn't have affected you now would it? Me on the other hand, a soul in a body that's not even mine, mind! It could kill me! So, so no. Thank you but no thank you."

"You're paranoid." A new voice interjected, making AJ's head snap so fast he wondered if he'd manage to break it. He curled towards himself, farther away from Sebastian and the cup of tea as Ciel strode into the room, looking a little worse for wear. AJ said nothing as the bluenette took the cup of tea from Sebastian and moved it closer to him and with a very firm voice said, "Drink."

AJ stared at the cup of tea (he was starting to hate it now) and the hand holding it but remained tight lip, very determined to keep Jim's body alive. He couldn't die anymore, as a soul, but Jim could and although he knew that Ciel was a smart person, he still didn't trust them. He couldn't trust anyone anymore.

The revolver and the sword on the table was a rather painfully reminder for him about that.

Ciel took in his unmoving silence only for about thirty seconds (timed) before he handed the cup back to Sebastian. "Get him something to eat, and maybe a fizzy drink since he'd like that more than tea."

The butler moved away, leaving them alone to probably go into the kitchen to do as he was instructed. Ciel said nothing. AJ said nothing. There was relative silence where AJ remained huddled against the corner of the couch, arms wrapped around his legs, head buried into them and Ciel was placed back on the exact same chair he had been calming himself in though the blonde didn't know that as he'd been unconscious then.

"Do you want Jim's body to die?" Was what broke the silence.

AJ turned sharply to look at Ciel, eyes wide and lips forming a small frown. He had just been salivating over the heavenly scents he was getting from what he assumed was the kitchen as Sebastian busied himself when Ciel had spoken up pulling himself out of his thoughts of bacon and eggs.

When AJ said nothing, Ciel repeated himself. "Do you want Jim's body to die?"

"Of course not."

"Then why are you still possessing him?"

AJ flinched at the harsh tone coloring Ciel's voice. From the lack of care in the bluenette's look it was obvious that he wanted this conversation over and done with and he didn't care if he was hurting AJ in the process.

"Why are you taking up his energy?" Ciel pressed on. "Don't you care that you're hurting him? You have to remember that your soul was split between him and Alois with merely small shards of your soul for a reason. People do get reincarnated and they have shards of their souls to remind them of the past should they need it but you had such a heavy past that it couldn't work with just one person. He can't take you fully especially for this long. Jim could die AJ."

"Don't you think I know that?" The blonde snapped glaring angrily at Ciel. "Don't you think I've tried to leave his body? Passing out doesn't work, shock doesn't work,  _nothing works!_  Don't you think I know what he's capable of? Don't you think I know how tired he is- how Alois is? I can  _feel_ it Ciel, dammit!  _I am them_!"

The bluenette remained quiet under the sudden onslaught of words. He knew that it would only be a while before the blonde would start talking. Neither Alois nor Jim were very good at holding their tongues and would most likely end up ranting. Alois knew it. Jim knew it. Ciel knew it. Back in the eighteen hundreds, a very much nagged Claude Faustus knew it too.

Ciel took it all under silence, he needed to let Alois vent.

"I would love to get out of Jim's body now to be perfectly honest because as much as being back on this world is a refreshing change I realized I don't like being here in the first place!" AJ wasn't making much sense now but he rambled away in an effort to keep away from Ciel and his questions.

He was so full of pent up anger and he was just so tired and he just wanted to back to floating because floating was safe. Floating was for him. And nothing he was doing was helping him out at all. He glared fiercely at Ciel who wasn't bloody saying anything and doubled the venom in his words. "And you! You're just sitting there looking like you didn't just try to charge me with a knife in one hand a gun in the other-."

"Knife?"

"Sword then you wanker! Sword." AJ clarified but he pressed on. "How can you just sit there and talk to me like you haven't just kidnapped me? Fat lot of good it did you to bring me back into this world only for you to kill me? You said so yourself- Alois and Jim are not me! They're their own people so why are you trying to kill me?"

"I wasn't aware I was doing so." Ciel replied calmly.

AJ gaped at him and said the first thing to come to mind. "Shut up."

"Excuse me?" Ciel asked.

"I said shut up."

"I heard you."

"You're still talking."

"Very mature AJ."

"La la la, I can't hear you!" AJ made a show of clamping hands over his ears and closing his eyes. It was because of that that he hadn't seen Ciel move away from his chair and towards the couch. He knelt on it, putting him at an advantage as he was now taller. AJ startled when hands gripped his own and gently tugged his hands away from his ears. "Wh-what?"

"You asked me why I brought you back," Ciel murmured lowly. "I thought long and hard about why I did. You can't imagine how many years it took me to stop being in denial. I… I was wrong Alois… Jim… I'll go with Alois. I was wrong to judge you so quickly."

His grip on the blonde's wrists tightened.

"All you ever were was a pawn in life's games. Now usually I like pawns because you do the fighting for everybody, charging in so nobly. But Claude used you without care and he hurt you, I hurt you. You were just a victim and I didn't think twice about you being innocent. I… I acted like a kid, thinking that everything was about myself. I could have left well enough alone, I could have asked Sebastian to just leave it be. But I acted like a kid and I played Claude's silly game, enough that I found myself hurting… you. I hurt you Alois, and I brought you back here, gave you a second chance because I can admit it now. I know what I did and it might be guilt… but I… I wanted…"

AJ stunned, stared at him, taking it all in. He watched as the bluenette struggled with what he wanted to say, his blue eyes flickering with nerves, teeth worrying on his bottom lip. Finally Ciel let out a soft breath.

"I wanted a second chance of my own." Ciel smiled weakly, as if he wasn't sure AJ would believe him. "I wanted to… to get to know you better, or at least the new you. I didn't expect for your soul to split but I thought that was a good thing. I… I was being selfish again. If you didn't remember who I was then you wouldn't remember all the things I've done to hurt you. It was a clean slate."

His smile saddened.

"But… the soul never forgets. I managed to hurt you so much your reincarnations knew I was trouble the moment I met them, Alois at least." Ciel let go of his wrists and smoothed down the front of his shirt. A habit done as he tried to calm himself. "I don't deserve a second chance, I know that Alois… I just… I want…"

Ciel stared long and hard at his hands that were now intertwined with the same pair of hands he had just been gripping quite desperately before. He looked up at AJ, and was stunned to see the smiling face. He hadn't expected that.

"That was the most beautiful thing anyone has ever told me Ciel Phantomhive." AJ breathed. His blue eyes were flooding with tears, his vision blurring slightly. He sniffed but his smile remained.

The bluenette couldn't answer, his cheeks burning. He tugged weakly at his hands in an attempt to see if AJ would let him get away with breaking his hold but they wouldn't budge. He didn't really mind it so he kept them there, waiting to see what else the blonde would say.

And boy did AJ have a lot to say. "Thank you Ciel. You have no idea how much that means to me, hearing you say that? I've done some thinking of my own you know. I know I'd been stupid… but for a person like me whose lost everything and anything close to him, after meeting Claude, being with Claude I just… You get it don't you? He was there for me when the rest of the world was ready to give up."

Ciel nodded.

"And he gave me a reason to live." AJ confessed. "I woke up for him, trying to impress him. Now that I see it that way I admit I may have acted like an obsessed fan girl but there's no changing that now. But… he was  _my_ Claude. And  **you!**  Challenging me, another reason to get up, wake up, live another day! You were a big part of my life Ciel, don't forget that."

"I was a big part of your death too you know." Ciel murmured quietly, his cheeks still flushed with a dark rogue.

AJ smirked at him and shook his head. "And here we were having a moment."

"It's the truth." Ciel muttered testily.

"Didn't say it was." AJ shrugged before he cupped Ciel's face in his hands, the action so familiar that Ciel just melted back into it, his eyes closing ever so slightly as AJ moved forward, his thumbs tracing slow circles on his cheeks, long fingers tangling with his blue hair.

"… Alois."

"I know you know how to get rid of me Ciel." AJ murmured, barely inches away. "It's not gonna be pretty, right?"

"You won't be able to get back." Ciel whispered lowly. "I knew you'd think of it too, even if you were ranting about nothing working."

"I didn't want to consider it." AJ said, he seemed to mull over his thoughts. "I… for all the talk I do, I am  _scared_ to move on. I don't belong in hell because my soul isn't completely there yet but I don't belong in heaven for the exact same reason. A quarter of me is in Jim, Alois, Hannah and another quarter in Claude. I can't be put to rest. Half of me at least because I can't possess Hannah and I can't possess Claude either."

Ciel lifted one hand and cupped AJ's face too. "You can't possess me."

"That's what I thought." AJ chuckled weakly. "I feel bad for Jim though. I don't think he's ever been kissed."

Ciel leaned in closer, his eyes lowering to half mast. "This won't count."

"Right." AJ whispered, his eyes falling shut too.

Soul sucking (as coined by a rather playful and soul!high Sebastian back in the eighteen hundreds) wasn't a pretty thing on a good day. Right now Ciel was taking in AJ's rather small soul shard but also making sure he didn't accidentally take Jim's. The flavor (which was the only word to describe what he came up with when soul sucking) were nearly identical, only Jim's was more strong because although AJ was in charge of the body, it was still Jim's.

The weak shove on his chest had Ciel pulling back, the coldness of a soul leaving it's body making itself evident as he saw frost on AJ's nearly blue lips, his face pale. Ciel could also see fog as he breathed out but he focused more on AJ than anything else.

"Th-That'll do." He whispered weakly. "I can feel myself fading."

"Jim?" Ciel asked.

"S-Strong." AJ promised before he pulled his hands back limply from Ciel's face and lowered his head to rest on Ciel's chest. "We… Wish we had this talk b-before… we could have… could have made a good… couple…"

Ciel didn't move and he waited before AJ… No,  _Jim_ now, remained unmoving as well. He gently lowered the blonde back on the sofa and stared hard. AJ was gone and he wouldn't be coming back any time soon.

Inside him, he could feel the bubbly sparks of giddiness he seemed to get whenever harvesting a soul. He was so hyped up he felt like running a few times around England to calm down.

"I am jealous." Sebastian confessed from where he stood by the kitchen doorway. He was holding a tray of food but clearly pouting (of all things) at his master.

Ciel ran a hand through his hair and straightened his clothes. "You may go and prey on a soul elsewhere. Leave me."

"Yes my lord."

The bluenette waited a moment to make sure Sebastian was gone before he pushed away the wispy strands of blonde hair splayed all over the couch cushion then took the boy in his arms. Steadily and surely, not wanting to jostle the recovering boy, he made his way to Trancy Manor.

* * *

Alois was still feeling like absolute shit but he had managed to haul himself down the stairs before his mother found him and immediately fussed. Once that happened and he lived through the scolding, he was set on the sofa with some tea and the telly to keep him company.

It was late and Eladine needed her own sleep and Alois had made sure to assure his mother that he would be fine and that his head wasn't hurting too badly anymore. That was a lie but he didn't want his mother to worry too much.

He spent a good portion of the night watching reruns of The Gilmore Girls. He enjoyed both mother and daughter's personalities and most episodes were always a good laugh. Jim would usually watch these things with him and for a second he wondered if anything was wrong with his brother.

Almost like a sixth sense when either twin wasn't feeling too well, the other would know about it. Which begged the question why Jim was not sitting with him and laughing at Michelle's expense!

Alois pulled himself off of the couch and hoped the episode wouldn't end before he got back because he liked it. If it did end that would be all right since they had most of the episodes on tape anyways. He made his way to his brother's bedroom, facing the dreaded stairs yet again. Thankfully his head wasn't too hurt now.

When he walked past his own room to get to Jim's he could in fact feel his head feeling better and he smiled at the fact that his brother's presence managed to calm him down some. At such a late hour, Jim's open light surprised him. Curious, Alois pushed the door, or tried to when he saw it was slightly open.

Something cold plunged into the bottom of Alois' stomach. A trait he and his twin shared was hatred over partially opened doors. You never knew what could be lurking behind it, and you never knew if something would be staring back at you should you be brave enough to look.

Rushing in head first was an even stupider plan and Alois sucked in his breath and although as he leaned forward, he had both eyes closed he managed to steel enough nerves to open one eye and look inside.

A cold breeze washed over Alois and he stiffly pulled away from the door before slowly making his way back down the stairs, onto the sofa and in front of the TV. The episode was still going on but he couldn't make much sense of it. Gingerly, he reached for his tea and took a sip. It had gone cold but whatever.

His mind was elsewhere. Not on the bloody tea and not on the stupid episode.

_Ciel Phantomhive.. in my brother's room._

_Huh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom. Much boom? Let's see we had AJ/Ciel kiss. Much feels!confessions from both AJ and Ciel and Alois seeing something he most definitely did not expect to see. The kiss wasn't much of a kiss but I had some difficulty writing it. Did they seem OOC to you guys?
> 
> Uhm, I redid the previous chapter so everything that needs to be formatted has been formatted. Maybe read through that chapter again for the ultimate feels? :D 
> 
> Nique


	7. Chapter Seven

Alois wasn't sure what he wanted to say so he focused on the window as they made their way to school. Hannah wasn't feeling well again that day and Alois almost wished he'd stayed back at home as well. He may have lost his fever but that didn't mean that he was feeling a hundred percent right again. For one thing he felt rather… numb about a number of things and for another…

"Are you okay Al?" Luka called from the front seat. Whenever Hannah was away, Luka insisted on sitting up front because without a caring adult in the area the twins usually talked about a plethora of things that Luka honestly didn't want to hear.

This morning though there was silence, and it was one of the reasons why the ginger head fought with his seatbelt to get a look at his brothers.

One was sleeping, or Jim would say he was resting his eyes while the other was brooding.

 _'Of course he's sleeping.'_ Alois thought in a tone that surprised himself. He didn't know why he was being so bitter about seeing blue-it-all in his brother's room in the middle of the night but there you go. He didn't know if it was because his twin was cavorting with a person he so despised or that Jim was hiding it from him.

Alois felt hurt. Jim was his brother, twin, and best friend. They'd never hidden anything from the other. Alois snuck a few cookies from the kitchen, Jim knew first (and would often get the first bite). Alois had a nightmare, Jim knew first. Alois first found out he fancied blokes and not birds, Jim knew first. Alois kissed the guy he fancied, Jim knew first. Alois threw a jealous-tantrum and sucker punched the boy's girlfriend (who he hadn't known about), Jim's knew first.

Now… now his brother was having midnight clandestine meetings with the blue-eyed-blue-haired-blueberry-cheesecake-eating-know-it-all-that-probably-idolizes-cookie-monster-for-being-so-blue guy that had Alois hair curling on ends and his blood pressure soaring through the roofs.

Impulsively, Alois turned in his seat and smacked Jim not too lightly. The other blonde jumped to awareness, his throbbing shoulder pulsing as his mind tried to fully wake up. He stared blearily at his brother, the only other person in the car within reaching distance and raised an eyebrow.

Alois said nothing, turned away but grumbled under his breath. "You should tell me these things. I tell _you_."

Jim, who hadn't been having a very good morning, turned away as well and left Alois to stew. Something in him was telling him right then and there to just ask Alois what was wrong and to get whatever it was over and done with but he was tired, groggy, and if Alois was going to act like a drama queen then Jim would let him.

The three brothers separated once they were at school, both older blondes assuring their little brother that everything was fine and that he should enjoy school. The whole Mallory-triplets issue had been forgotten, or so it seemed. Alois knew he had to talk to Luka about being involved with a senior (especially since his little brother was still a freshman- Jim and Alois could date whoever they wanted because they were sixteen, Luka was fourteen and Timber was eighteen. That was a four year difference).

Alois fell in line as the flag ceremony got started, he sang the national anthem, recited all the bloody oaths and pledges, even gave a bit of effort into the required daily exercise but remained otherwise contained in his thoughts. What exactly he was thinking of, well, a few were that the sun was too bloody bright that day and it was pissing him off, his chair was too bloody hard and it was pissing him off, his bloody brother was keeping secrets from him and it was pissing him off, aaaaanddd his brother's secret was staring at him and it was pissing him off.

"Do you want something?" He hissed once Ms. Shrewsbury's back was turned to them as she wrote whatever their lesson was supposed to be on the black board.

The bluenette stared at him, whether it was because he was caught staring or he wasn't bothered by said fact Alois didn't know. He met the blonde's glare with a completely nonplussed look that pissed Alois even more.

"Well?" He doubled when Ciel had yet to say anything.

"You're angry." The Phantomhive boy said.

Alois stared for a moment, his glare leaving his face before he looked at Ciel with complete sarcastic amusement. "You noticed?"

"… Yes."

"How bloody kind of you." Alois snapped. He felt kind of sorry for the kid sitting in between Ciel and him. It had been decided that Ciel didn't want Alois' seat but would like a seat closer to the front all the same, just not his as if there was something wrong with his seat. That pissed Alois off too.

"Would you… like to talk about it?" Ciel asked and like a switch had been turned Alois stood up, the pencil in his hand breaking in half (ow!) and his glare burning into Ciel's face.

"You know what? Yes I would like- no- love to talk about it." Alois drawled vehemently. Many heads had turned their way now as Alois did not fancy lowering his voice. All his attention was on Ciel, who remained unmoving. "Why don't we start with the fact that I saw you in my brother's room last night? Just what exactly where you doing there huh? You make a very good Romeo only I'm sure he didn't watch Juliet sleep! Or should I just call you Edward and be done with it? Do you sparkle in the sun too?"

Ciel stood then, moving around the flustered boy in between them (who basically heard everything not saying that the rest of the class didn't) and grabbed Alois' arm. He made to walk towards the door but Alois was being stubborn and did not budge. He dug his heels into the tiled floor because for some reason Ciel was strong.

"L-Let go of me!" He hissed, slamming one hand on his desk for more leverage. That particular noise had Ms. Shrewsbury turning around to face them and upon seeing the Phantomhive boy attempting to drag Trancy simply turned her head to the side and sighed.

"Take it out in the hall please." She told them shakily then fixing the class a frosty stare. "The rest of you, eyes on the board. I expect your notes on my desk by the end of the class."

There were groans all around but Alois didn't chime in as he still fought against Ciel's pull on him. He actually skid forward a bit before he decided he loved his black shoes too much (they were brand new!) to lose them this way. With much protest he was dragged out into the hall where much to his surprise Ciel let him go right away.

He rubbed at his now sore arm because honestly Ciel had a good grip but glared heatedly at the bluenette who was looking at him with a mildly concerned face.

"I didn't know you saw us." Ciel said after a beat.

Alois shook his head in disbelief. Of all the things to say… "I pride myself for my well invested ninja skills."

"So you have a habit of checking on your brother in the middle of the night?"

"No." Alois snapped. "If you must know I felt horrible last night and needed a bit of comfort. Usually Jim senses stuff like that but he wasn't with me so I went to see if he was feeling bad too. Of course imagine my surprise when he had a new comforter of his own."

"You were feeling bad?" Ciel took a step towards him and grabbed his arm again, not the one from before, and held him steady. He stared at him and Alois couldn't help the rushing flush that crept up his neck and into his face. He'd seen that look on Ciel before… he was giving it to Jim just last night.

"What's it to you Phantomhive? Aren't you after Jim?" Alois huffed, his cheeks now very much resembling a very selfish chipmunk before he felt the grip on his arm tightening. He shook his arm. "Let go of me."

"No." Ciel said stubbornly keeping his hold. "What you saw last night… Alois that was nothing."

"Right." Alois huffed.

"I'm trying to explain here." Ciel told the blonde.

Alois struggled even more, trying to use his other hand to loosen Ciel's fingers. He huffed when they wouldn't budge. "I don't want your explanation."

"Maybe but you need it." Ciel smirked when Alois froze in front of him. The blonde raised his head and stared at him with wide blue eyes. "You can't understand why Jim and I would be together in the night and you need to know because you're confused and it's making you frustrated."

"Shut up." Alois mumbled. He looked away from Ciel and abandoned the idea of escaping from the bluenette's hold. "It's like you're in my head… stop it."

"I'm calling it as I see it." Ciel said and his grip loosened to the point where Alois could rip his arm out and walk away from him.

Alois noticed and raised an eyebrow at Ciel. "Not afraid I'm gonna try to leave?"

"I trust you." Ciel smiled.

Alois stopped moving again… why… well… uh…

'I trust you.'

Aaanndddddd

Ciel smiled.

Ciel hadn't realized that Alois had seen him. His and Jim's souls were like one in the same, it was so hard to tell the difference between the two and last night he had been… well the best way to describe it he had been high. Intoxicated over AJ's soul. It was… the flavor had been overwhelming and maybe that was because AJ had developed feelings for Ciel and it made the soul richer in terms of taste.

It was something that most 'masters' didn't know. The closer to a demon that you were, the more delicious a soul was in general. Some have certain preferences to the souls they devoured like that bastard Claude seemed to like his. What was it with his soul that had demons going batshit crazy back in the 1800s? Honestly, it was like he was a plate of pancakes- a plate of pancakes drowning in maple syrup and placed in front of a bunch of hungry Canadians or something.

Claude had been an idiot though. With how much Alois felt for him, whether or not it had been genuine, it would still have made Alois' soul to die for. It could sound a little unsavory to hear that Alois' soul was in fact tainted. But it was tainted in only the best of ways. The pain he'd gone through, how he'd taken advantage of the hand that life had dealt to him. He hadn't decided to keel over and die. He used what he had to his advantage. He made an effort into being alive.

It was that part of AJ that had Ciel running around England this morning, to work off the high he had gotten. In truth he was feeling a little high right now. Baaad.

Right now he stared at Alois who had gone silent and he took the moment to his advantage and tried to get a feel of his soul. Just how much was the reincarnation and how much was still AJ. This soul was less enticing, not to say that that was a bad thing. The up side was that Ciel didn't feel like sucking Alois' soul out and it pretty much meant that whatever part of AJ's soul that was in Alois was dormant.

That was good.

"Alois." Ciel waited for the blonde to look up at him, and he couldn't help but smile even more at the flustered expression on his face. The rogue cheeks were an added bonus and he could spend all day just looking at him no matter how sappy that just sounded.

Of course he had a lot to say now, like how he didn't fancy Jim (even if he had technically kissed him- but it didn't count because he was soul sucking and those weren't kisses!) and how he would like to court him when he saw a lot of blonde…

"Shouldn't you be in class?" The voice was a soothing low and incredibly familiar. Ciel couldn't help but feel a sense of de ja vu. He'd never heard that voice tell that to him but he had heard that voice somewhere before.

Alois seemed to think the same thing and he spun away from Ciel and took off towards the newcomer, wrapping his arms around her and laughing in absolute delight. "Axelle!"

Ciel stared at this Axelle and couldn't help but just plainly gawk. It was like looking at Alois with long hair. In fact, should he go back to the eighteen hundreds when he'd first met the blonde he would only have to pull the pigtails off and viola~!

Axelle wasn't even looking at him, she was hugging Alois back.

Ciel had a feeling that he somehow knew where this was going...

"What are you doing here?" Alois cried when he pulled away from the hug.

…after all the Trancy's were known for being caring and loving…

Axelle beamed at him. "Can't I come and visit my own brother at school?"

… adoptive parents.

* * *

 

Jim's bad mood had alleviated a bit as he met up with his siblings in the cafeteria, and when he said siblings, he meant siblings. Both his sisters had showed up at school and he had been super surprised to see Devon of all people outside his door waiting for him as his class finished.

Devon was the eldest at the age of twenty three. She was taken in by the Trancy's when she was eighteen and ready to go into college. By that time Alois and Jim were twelve and just starting middle school. It had taken a while to adjust to a new sibling but it worked anyways.

Axelle, twenty years old, on the other hand was with the Trancy's before Alois, Jim, or even Luka showed up. She'd been the first adoptive child and had been quite… spoiled. She had resented the fact that she was no longer the lone Trancy and had even bullied the twins before Jim grew bolder and Alois produced the wicked tongue he now had and talked back to her. Eladine had talked to all four of them about how they would always be special to her and Mathew- father - and so they didn't need to fight and Axelle was their older sister. If they ever needed to leave the house she would be left in charge. That kept her happy at least.

At the moment they were all seated at the twin's and Luka's regular table with good old fashioned fish and chips (ordered from their favorite restaurant outside) and catching up and talking. Luka had taken the table and explained what he'd done in class and told his sisters about Timber.

"Our Luka's growing up!" Devon chuckled and ruffled Luka's copper hair. He smiled happily at that but let her do as she pleased. His hair didn't matter much to him anyways, he was just glad that his big sisters weren't reacting the same way his brothers did. That would be a nightmare, ugh.

Axelle wiggled her eyebrows at the eldest Trancy and pointed at Alois. "What about him then? I saw him getting quite cozy with some pretty good looking bloke outside of his classroom when I picked him up."

"Oh?" Devon hummed and smirked. She fixed Alois with a knowing look. "Do share little brother. Is this boyfriend number sixty-six?"

Jim let his sisters have their fun but he too wanted to know who this new man was. Alois was chewing on his fish and he was deliberately putting off swallowing. He was sure what food was in his mouth could be feed to baby birds before he gulped it down followed by some juice. His siblings were still waiting and he rolled his eyes, sagging against his chair.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"He isn't?" Axelle hummed and turned to Jim. "Blue hair. Blue eyes. Shorter than Al over here and by the looks of it is most probably in his class."

Jim's eyebrow raised and he turned to Alois. "Ciel Phantomhive?"

"Such a fancy name." Devon cheered from where she was sipping her juice. She was done eating or so it seemed. She played with what was still on her plate.

"Perfect for our Alois over here." Axelle agreed nearly vibrating in my place in joy. She had seen this Ciel after all and he was talk dark and handsome… minus the tall part. He had that mysterious vibe around him which she knew Alois liked.

"I told you," Alois muttered slowly so that his siblings would understand. They were fairly smart (seeing as one of them was working her way to becoming a doctor) so he was sure they would get it at some point. "He. Is not. My boyfriend."

"He's getting worked up." Devon commented idly and she flicked her fork away, her attention all on Jim. "Tell me about this Ciel Phantomhive."

Jim, never one to refuse his siblings, started talking right away. After all it was three against one (Luka being the neutral party who would go tell Mum when everything went loco). "New transfer just a few days ago… we're leaning on a full week. Everybody wants to know where he's from, what he's doing because Phantomhive is a pretty big name. They manage Funtom."

"Oh I love their cakes! We had one ordered to celebrate finishing the movie and I kissed my pants size goodbye after the first bite!" Axelle piped up, staring down at her stomach. She then turned to Alois, smirking. "If you and he get together I call he handle the wedding cake! Make it big with twelve tiers or something ridiculous like that!"

"What?" Alois, who had been trying to ignore his siblings because he knew no matter what he did would make them shut up now that they had Jim on their side, choked on his chips and glared at Axelle. "Who said anything about a wedding? Funtom produces toys you dimwit! And I hate the guy- tell them Jimmy!"

"He does." Jim nodded solemnly. "I don't know why but ever since day one he just does."

Alois threw him a look that Jim ignored. He would talk with his twin later, especially for that punch he had received that morning for no reason whatsoever. He was not a punching bag ready for Alois to throttle when he felt like it. No.

Devon didn't miss a beat though and shrugged her shoulders. Her pigtails (which is odd because whoever saw a grown-woman at her age studying in medical school of all people wearing their hair in pigtails?) were tossed over her shoulder to fall down her back. "Ever heard of opposites attract?"

"Yeah," Axelle chuckled and kicked Alois (successfully) under the table. "And Funtom produces sweets too so you're the dimwit."

Alois said nothing as he fought the urge to nurse his injured leg. First his arm earlier with Ciel and now his leg with his siblings. Was today hurt-Alois day or something? He should be informed about these things, after all he's the one who'd be sporting bruises the next day. Life was so unfair.

"Did you both just come here to gang up on me?" He grumbled.

Devon shook her head. "Axelle over here has some big news."

"Which I won't say anything about until Mom and Dad are here too." Axelle tapped her index finger to her lips and beamed. "It's good news though, so no worries."

"That's not fair!" Luka piped up for the first time. His was the only plate completely clean and Devon had swapped theirs so he could eat her chips too since they all knew how much Luka loved fish and chips. "How come Devon knows but we don't?"

"I don't know either." Devon stuck her tongue out.

"Aren't you too old for that?" Alois asked, still grumpy.

The eldest blonde repeated the action but towards him. "Growing old is inevitable but growing up is an option. I say nay to being a kill joy!"

"Yay!" Luka cheered.

"You stole that from somewhere." Jim muttered as he pointed his fork at her.

"Sue me." Devon shrugged her shoulders in such a manner that it made her siblings laugh.

Axelle rolled her eyes. "This is why you're single."

"I'm twenty-three." Devon answered. "I have all the time in the world to get married and have kids."

"Right." Axelle nodded, her eyes staring at the table. She cleared her throat and she looked up at her brothers. "Tell them about the guy you saw on your way home Devy, come on."

"What happened?" Jim asked, abandoning his plate for sure now. He was talking too much to be eating. He passed said plate to Luka who was happily chewing on his chips.

"Well," Devon cleared her throat. "I was finishing up at the hospital after my shift and was talking to Axelle on the phone- it's the only reason she knows about what happened- when this guy runs past me, bumps into me, and keeps running away. I thought he'd been rude and I wanted to scold him for running in a hospital you know but security got to him before I did and he kept saying stuff about a guy in a butler suit chasing after him."

"Butler suit?" Alois asked. "Why would a… butler be chasing after him?"

"No clue." Devon sighed. "Nobody saw the supposed butler though and we just thought maybe there was something mentally wrong with him. A few loose bolts here and there. He kept looking around and jumping at the smallest things. I had to stay back an hour because they asked me to sedate him and get him into psyche. I don't know what happened but I when I went to sign out somebody called the code and he just… died."

"Seriously?" Jim asked. "He just, like, died?"

"Well I didn't exactly see it happen." Devon muttered angrily. "And I'm not making this up."

"Why is it bothering you then?" Alois laid his head onto his crossed arms on the table. He'd also pushed his plate away but far from Luka because he was eating too much at the moment. "He died. Wasn't your fault."

"Yeah but he was…" Devon worried on her bottom lip for a moment. "Look there was nothing wrong with the man. He was healthy as far as our tests could tell. He was just a couple of bolts loose!"

"So you're wondering why he died." Jim concluded.

Axelle joined the conversation as she looked at her phone (which she had pulled out a few moments ago), her fingers flew across the keys, her eyes glued to the screen. "She's been obsessed with it. It's getting pretty irritating."

"Hey!" Devon protested. "It's just so bizarre! I study medicine and I try to save people's lives then this one guy comes into the hospital and dies a healthy man."

"You don't think he suffocated himself or something?" Jim tried, he knew what it felt to be frustrated because a common trait all five siblings had was their hatred for not knowing.

Alois sympathized as well and nodded his head. "Yeah, maybe he committed suicide?"

"He didn't." Devon said, completely sure of herself. "We would have been able to tell!"

The siblings mulled over this in silence until Luka quietly and politely asked if they could talk about something else because this was scaring him.

"Oh, sorry Lue." Devon ruffled Luka's hair and the tense, sullen, and somewhat thoughtful mood around the table lifted a bit as they got onto lighter subjects, such as Axelle's big news.

"Just tell us already!" Alois cried.

"Nu uh." Axelle mimed zipping her lips, locking them up, and throwing away the key.

Alois rolled his eyes but Jim gasped theatrically and grabbed at something in the air before miming unlocking his sister's lips with a smug smirk on his face.

Axelle scowled at them. "Still not telling brats."

"You suck!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **AN** : Well, uh, been a while? OCs aren't entirely too important, at least I don't plan them to be really important. Tbh they were supposed to show up in another BB fic of mine but they crawled their way into this one as well. 
> 
> Thoughts? 
> 
> **Nique**


End file.
